In 2011, Harry Potter, the series, will end with its eighth installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.
As the franchise moves closer to its finish line, Hollywood executives are now scrambling to find the next big thing — a multiple movie property that appeals to youngsters, has an epic sweep and fantastic landscapes that suit modern CGI filmmaking.
Several feel that the answer to this is Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Releasing in India on February 19, Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief, is the first of the five books penned by the author.
It is is a contemporary fantasy that centres around Percy Jackson; a modern day teenager who discovers that he is a demi-god and with his friends, embarks on a journey to save the world from destruction by the battling Greek gods.
The series has spent more 125 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and has already sold more than 50,000 copies in India. The Lightning Thief has been a bestseller for weeks in leading Indian stores too.
The movie has been directed by Chris Columbus, director of Harry Potter I & II and Mrs Doubtfire. Columbus is also the writer of Home Alone I &II.