Kobe on new media project: Like 'Harry Potter and the Olympics had a baby'

With an Oscar on his mantle, Kobe Bryant appears to have far grander ambitions on the horizon. The retired Los Angeles Lakers legend is set to launch a fictional universe in the near future that spans both literature and cinema.

"If Harry Potter and the Olympics had a baby, that would be the world we're trying to communicate," Bryant told Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins. "There's fantasy - dreamlike, magical elements - but it's a magic kids can experience."

Set in the world of "Granity," the series will tip off next year as a series of three young-adult fantasy novels, with two more on the slate for 2020, and talks of potential film adaptations already in the works. A Broadway-style musical isn't off the table either.

While the genesis of the idea comes from the mind of the Mamba, freelance fantasy authors will handle the actual writing of the entries based on the rich tapestry of notes Bryant has accumulated since he started building out his fictional universe.

Like the grand story Bryant will debut in 2019, the former hooper has an understanding of how his own life fits into a larger narrative.

"You need to have a villain, an antagonist, and for a long time I've been this Black Mamba character," the 39-year-old told Jenkins during his final NBA training camp in 2015, when the first seeds of Granity were beginning to take root. "But when I go full bore into my second act, I think they will know me for something else."