Details about the final edition of the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child script book have finally emerged.
Back when the publication of The Cursed Child script was announced, Harry Potter publishers Scholastic and Bloomsbury said that there would be two editions: A Rehearsal Edition and a Definitive Edition. The former was being pushed out on the date the play formally opened so that the story could get into the hands of readers around the globe in an official capacity. J.K. Rowling and co. didn’t want fans reading spoilers on Tumblr (or Hypable).
The Definitive Edition now has a release date and a new title. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production will be published July 25, 2017 — one year after The Cursed Child officially opened on London’s West End. As originally promised, the script will be updated with the “subtle” changes that were made to the show after the Rehearsal Edition was published.
But that’s not all! A new description appearing on Amazon reveals that the book will include the following features:
This revised paperback edition updates the “special rehearsal edition” with the conclusive and final dialogue from the play, which has subtly changed since its rehearsals, as well as a conversation piece between director John Tiffany and writer Jack Thorne, who share stories and insights about reading playscripts. This edition also includes useful background information including the Potter family tree and a timeline of events from the wizarding world prior to the beginning of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Notably, this’ll be the first time The Cursed Child will be in paperback, and it looks like this final edition of the script will not be available in hardback.
This “timeline of events” sounds interesting — is this a timeline of events between Deathly Hallows and Cursed Child? Or does it start at Sorcerer’s Stone?
And do people who read the “eighth story” really even need a timeline? Which begs the question…
