JK Rowling Once Rejected a 'Harry Potter' Musical Proposed by Michael Jackson

Harry Potter and Michael Jackson. What do they have in common? You would think nearly nothing, but in actuality they were almost connected in a big way at one time. Apparently, the King of Pop had some grand ideas for how to mount a Harry Potter musical, but was ultimately shot down by author J.K. Rowling.

In a 2015 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the famed talk show host commented on the vastness of the Harry Potter universe—and wondered if Rowling had any concerns about growing it even more.

“Were you reluctant to increase the empire?” Oprah asked. “Meaning the theme parks, the doll figures. I mean, there is an entire Potter universe. Anything you can imagine in the world, it’s been Potterized.”

“I can only say to you, it could be so much worse,” Rowling replied. “Michael Jackson wanted to do the musical. I said no to a lot of things. I have a say. For me I love the films, I love the books, and there are elements that are really fun around it.”

While Jackson's take on the Boy Wizard would undoubtedly have been an intriguing thing to see, we're siding with Rowling's hard pass on this one.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.