Summary
Potterheads excited for HBO’s upcomingHarry Pottertelevision series were finally treated toan official casting announcement recently, with six new actors officially revealed following weeks of speculation and rumors swirling around the project.
Several Hogwarts staff members were confirmed for theHarry Potteradaptation byThe Hollywood Reporter,with John Lithgow set to play headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, andNick Frost as the gentle half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, with the newly announced Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse joining them as Quirinus Quirrell and Argus Filch in guest and recurring roles.
However, not everyone is happy about heading back to Hogwarts. The upcoming HBO series, which hails fromSuccession’sFrancesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, has been embroiled in plenty of controversy following the first announcement back in April 2023. Aside from the elephant in the room - J. K. Rowling’s ongoing stance and her involvement in the show - many fans have echoed the same concern when it comes to the series. Why remake the original and incredibly cherished film franchise? HBO and theHarry Pottercreative team certainly have one major issue on their hands.
Avoiding a Harry Potter Remake Could Have Prevented So Many Problems
Steering clear from the familiar roster of beloved characters, magical stories and fantastical settings could have saved Warner Bros. a major headache. While the popularity of the Wizarding World franchise doesn’t show major signs of slowing down as a whole - what with the ever-popular Warner Bros. Studio Tour andWest End showThe Cursed Child, along with the upcoming opening of a thirdHarry Potter-inspired land at Universal Studios Orlando- there’s certainly a reticence from fans when it comes to the HBO series.
Choosing to adapt the original book series while the final installment of the film franchise was released a mere fourteen years ago has certainly been met with a barrage of backlash. One of the more prominent issues is the question of whom the actual target audience is for the upcoming HBO series - is it for the younger Gen Z audience who missed out on the originalHarry Pottermania? Or is it for the children of the original fans who have now grown up, with those parents looking to share their love of the franchise with their family? Theoriginal announcement from Maxindicated the latter:
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
However, many fans who grew up with the books and films in the 1990s and 2000s are concerned that the franchises’ legacy will be tarnished with another unsuccessful installment, especially if the creative teamdeviates too far from the source material.It’s certainly an uphill task for the studio to try and step out of the shadow of the iconicHarry Potterfilm franchise, with comparisons on casting and story a given.
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, HBO’s head of IP, Sarah Aubrey, thankfully commented that they “don’t want to repeat people that were in the movies” and that “it’s always a little nerve-wracking because people so associate those roles with certain actors” - signifying that they won’t lean too heavily on nostalgia and the franchises’ past, an element which has been over relied on in blockbuster franchises such asStar WarsandMarvel.
Much like therecent slew of Disney live-action remakes, fans of the original films have also criticized casting announcements which deviated too far from the books and the films, leading to concerns over the treatment of certain actors from the more toxic parts of the fandom. Sadly, the official Max account on Facebook turned off comments on the official announcement post for this very reason.
The creative team behind the decade-long adaptation is aiming for a closer take on the stories in the source material as opposed to the film, hoping to breathe new life into the (well-established) fantasy franchise. However, there were numerous other options to choose from to avoid these criticisms.
There Are So Many Other Stories in the Wizarding World To Dive Into
Instead of remaking the original series of books and facing the onslaught of backlash, the studio could have instead focused on bringing several other existing titles in the franchise to life. Most recently, the spellbinding hit 2023 video gameHogwarts Legacyhas proved a hugely successful endeavor for the studio, surpassing numerous sales milestones -crossing over 30 million copies sold- to become one of the best-selling video games of all time.
The immersive open-world game was set a century prior to the events of the Harry Potter films and novels, with the main gameplay centered around an intriguing ancient magic mystery. While it took place in beloved locations such as Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, the main story was an original creation and focused on the “Keepers” who protected the secrets of an ancient magic from falling into the wrong hands, such as Ranrok, who is the current leader of an ongoing goblin rebellion against wizards.
The popularity of the game with its dedicated fan base, coupled with the magical story, surely would have madean adaptation ofHogwarts Legacya prime and logical choice for Warner Bros.
Alongside the hugely popular game, there’sanother successful and well-established installment ripe for adapting, the West End hitThe Cursed Child. Running for almost ten years in London, the play is set nineteen years after the events ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
The play follows the adventures of friends Albus Severus Potter, Rose Granger-Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy as they embark on their first year at Hogwarts. The trio end up stealing the infamous Time-Turner to go back and attempt to save Cedric Diggory from his fate in the Triwizard tournament, leading to timey wimey hijinks.
There are also plenty of short spin-off books to pull from, includingQuidditch Through The Ages- which delves into the origins of the Golden Snitch - alongside the fairy tales ofThe Tales of Beedle the BardandHogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide,which uncovers the secrets of the iconic castle.
Furthermore, why not explore another wizarding school set in the same universe,perhaps from the Triwizard tournament? Alongside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there’s the secretive and militaristic Durmstrang Institute alongside the French Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Or simply a legacy sequel featuring cameos from original characters to tap into the franchises’ nostalgia?
Did The Fantastic Beasts Movies Curse Any Future Prequels, Spin-offs or Original Stories?
Theunfortunate box office and controversies surroundingHarry Potterspin-off seriesFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themundoubtedly led to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav decided to ‘play it safe’ by turning to an adaptation of the original series.
The adaptation of the 2001 short book - released for the charity Comic Relief - followed magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) as he searched for an escaped Niffler from his magical suitcase. While the first installment was a critical and box-office hit, grossing over$816m worldwide(on a budget of $180m), thefollowing sequels failed to live up to expectations.
Controversies around key stars Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller - with domestic violence court cases, damning video footage of violence and subsequent arrests for disorderly conduct -certainly tarnished the spin-off series.
Furthermore, the third installment in the Harry Potter spin-off series -The Secrets of Dumbledore- underperformed at the box office, most likely due to the conflicting stories. Was this really aFantastic Beastsstory or merely a vehicle for a Dumbledore and Grindlewald spin-off teased inThe Deathly Hallows? It certainly felt like Newt, Jacob, Tina and Queenie were sidelined by Dumbledore’s backstory, and long gone were the magical beasts.
Planned as a five-film prequel, the series was eventually shelved after the third installment, with director David Yates confirming the project is “parked” in an interview withTotal Film.
“The idea that there were going to be five films was a surprise to most of us, Jo just mentioned it spontaneously, at a press screening once. No one had told us there were going to be five, we’d committed to the first one.”
“I haven’t spoken to Jo, I haven’t spoken to [producer] David Heyman, I haven’t spoken to Warner Bros; we’re just taking a pause."
It certainly feels like the studio were spooked by the failure of the series and looked to what they thought would be a guaranteed success in remaking the original book series. It’s a shame when there are so many other stories which could be told in the Wizarding World - without the baggage and expectations of the original.
TheHarry Potterseries is expected to debut on Max and the HBO and Warner Bros Discovery streaming service sometime in 2026.
