EXCLUSIVE: James Scott McKnight, who spent seven years as Chief Creative Officer at J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, overseeing the Harry Potter franchise, is stepping into his own universe.
McKnight has created The Invisible Lights franchise, a fantasy/sci-fi world that is centered around 18 year old Elliott and a number of connected worlds.
While many would start with a book or a series, given McKnight’s experience shepherding the Harry Potter universe, as well as working on brands such Lord of the Rings, Moshi Monsters and Hello Kitty, he is planning a major franchise roll out that will include a TV series, a podcast, a graphic novel and books.
McKnight has signed with UTA, which is working with him to develop the project and he will start pitching this world at the start of June.
“Everyone’s talks about franchises like Marvel. Instead of it being a business organizing principle, I wondered could it be a creative strategy from the ground up? [At first], I decided I’m not just going to write a TV show, I’m not just going to write a novel, I’m going to try to build a world and see where that takes me,” he told Deadline.
The Invisible Lights is set in a world that is connected through a portal to another world – Light – that has four continents that are divided through weather and each of these continents are connected to another world. However, these portals went away and went off in their own direction – this story reconnects these worlds and looks at how they have changed.
The main character is 18-year Elliott, who goes through tragedy at the beginning of the story, when his mother, the only person he knows, dies in a car crash. He soon finds out a huge amount about himself and ends up in a big investigation, led by a private investigator that had previously been working with his mother. It becomes a journey of discovery for Elliott, who is a bit of an introvert from San Francisco, and this entire world.
Part of the story involves a graphic novel, which features a mythical tale that Elliott thinks is fiction. While he had never met anyone who read the comic in one world, he soon discovers that it has become a symbol of rebellion for kids that grew up in the other world.
Similarly, while the story is focusing on the action in one world, a podcast is planned to tell stories that are happening concurrently in the other world.
McKnight is now looking for collaborators for all the different elements of his story. “Some of the worlds that I love, like Star Wars and Marvel… it is an entire village of people that are inspired by that world. You create a canvas and other people come and play in it. I’m not precious about it, that makes it even better,” he said.
UTA partner Oren Rosenbaum, who is Head of UTA Audio and Head of Emerging Platforms at the agency, added, “James is a uniquely creative force who has worked with some of the most beloved franchises in pop culture, and our team is thrilled to be working on bringing his own projects to a wide audience across an array of mediums including podcast, TV and books.”
“It does sound like I might be some kind of mad professor,” joked McKnight.
