Exploring the Pros and Cons of a Harry Potter Reboot: Is it Necessary for the Wizarding World to Thrive?

 Exploring the Pros and Cons of a Harry Potter Reboot: Is it Necessary for the Wizarding World to Thrive?

Well it’s official; a Harry Potter TV reboot is moving forward at Max, the new streaming service from Warner Bros. Discovery. Reportedly, each of J.K. Rowling’s books will be adapted into a single season of television, in what has been described as a “decade-long-series” that will feature an entirely new cast. 

Once viewed as a charming children’s story that spawned a mighty media empire, Harry Potter has now been irreparably tainted by the controversy generated by J.K. Rowling, who has joined “The League of Disappointing Authors”. But let’s briefly leave Rowling out of it and discuss the idea of merit. The movies are still firmly lodged in the public consciousness to the point where a TV series feels unnecessary. At least The Rings of Power did something different to The Lord of The Rings trilogy, and even then its huge IP couldn’t save it. Will Harry Potter do any better just because it’s the same story again? It feels like that would be worse, if anything. 

Then there is the rocky track record. Harry Potter still sells well when it comes to pencil cases and Lego sets (though Rowling’s income has been falling), but the big projects aren’t hitting. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all publicly defended trans rights (implicitly criticizing Rowling), while Fantastic Beasts flopped hard enough that the last two planned movies were quietly shelved. Heading back to the books feels like a last resort - a normal series would just do a young Professor Snape series/spin-off with a name like Adam Driver attached to lead or even try an capitalize on the most recent video game ‘Hogwarts Legacy’. 

A big factor in a lot of people’s decision to play Hogwarts Legacy (or at least, a common excuse offered in the desperation to appear to be a good person) was that JK Rowling was not involved in the game - you know, aside from being the founder who still owns the IP and profits financially and in her public platform whenever we buy Harry Potter things. This time, there’s no hiding. Rowling is executive producer and will have sign-off on all of the ideas within the show.

There was a lot of talk after Hogwarts Legacy’s sales that the boycott didn’t work, but I’m not so sure that’s true. As many of us consistently stated, it was not about getting everyone to stop playing. You don’t slay the Titan on the first level. The fact is a huge chunk of the people who bought the Harry Potter game did so sheepishly, with faux apologies offered, and some content creators avoided or ditched the game after their community asked them to.

But then again, perhaps that doesn’t matter. In the reveal, HBO used the movie’s theme, the movie’s logo, and the movie’s Hogwarts. No cast has been revealed yet. HBO just revealed it’s changing the name of its streaming service (usually a bad sign) and this is instant good press. It’s also a lot of value added with limited output if this is merely to boost the share price in the event of the long-rumored sale of Warner Bros., so this could all be for nothing.

There are a lot of individual arguments you could make. The huge budgets and VFX required will make it impossible to grow up with the cast the way the movies did (plus the fact the target audience will be Harry Potter adults anyway). The many problematic factors of the book that will likely be changed even in this ‘more faithful’ adaptation. The fact each book varies wildly in length and depth, meaning early seasons will likely need a lot of filler that later, overstuffed seasons will need to resolve

None of that matters. This show, if it exists, is made specifically under the watchful eye of J.K. Rowling. She was your excuse for Hogwarts Legacy and that card has already been burned. J.K. Rowling’s continued association with Harry Potter has poisoned the brand beyond all redemption so long as she remains in charge, and this TV show will be no exception. If it comes to pass, we shouldn’t support it, and it will be extremely surprising if Rowling is able to teeter on her platform of respectability for the next decade and not bring the whole thing crashing down with her.

By Danny Manna Twitter: @Cinemanna24 - Nerdthusiast Content Creator