Harry Potter TV Reboot Coming to HBO Max

HBO Max Becomes Max... Oh, And A Harry Potter Reboot Is Confirmed

Television

Last week, The Rowling Library brought to my attention that on April 12th (today), there would be an announcement made by WB Discovery.  I completely forgot about that until the news dropped that HBO Max will turn into Max starting May 23rd of this year. It was also announced that for the first time ever, Harry Potter will become a television show, streaming exclusively on Max. No date for the release of the show has been announced. HBO Max (soon to be just “Max”) released a short trailer, and the Wizarding World provided a show outline below:

“The new adaptation will introduce you to a new cast for a new generation of fandom, and will be full of the fantastic detail, much-loved characters and dramatic locations we have loved for over 25 years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and his incredible adventures to new audiences around the world.”

Your Hogwarts letter is here.

Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/3CgEHLYhch

— HBO Max (@hbomax) April 12, 2023

Read below to hear what J.K. Rowling, author of the series, and executive producer of the show, has said:

J.K. Rowling on the new Harry Potter TV series that will adapt the seven novels: pic.twitter.com/zjclkn4MiY

— The Rowling Library (@rowlinglibrary) April 12, 2023

It’s time for Blabs’ opinion.

Pros

Various characters were omitted in the films altogether, like Charlie Weasley and Peeves. Many characters’ “scenes” were cut, too, diminishing their depth and characteristics in the films. The show could shine a light on more characters than the films could. Plus, it gives a chance for the show to actually give Ginny Weasley a personality and show how much of a badass she really is. This also goes for important plot elements that were removed from the movies, like Tom Riddle’s past, St. Mungo’s Hospital, the majority of the Half-Blood Prince book, and more! Harry’s parents will be the correct age, we could see Dean Thomas in Malfoy Manor, more Quidditch, and tons of other scenes and chapters! I sure hope that Bellatrix and Voldemort’s death scenes are given the justice they deserve. We would get Harry being interviewed by Rita Skeeter in Order of the Phoenix. Overall, a series would give more time to flesh out and develop the plot and characters – more than a movie ever could.

J.K. Rowling is an executive producer, and the Wizarding World trademark is owned by Rowling and WB. Click here for the full IP rights breakdown. This means Rowling will be heavily involved, and that is comforting if you ignore black Hermione and a few other inaccuracies in Fantastic Beasts. She was able to veto certain things when creating the films, such as the mention of Dumbledore having a female love interest in Half-Blood Prince.

A few things we'd like to see in the new #HarryPotter TV series:

💫 Tom Riddle's past
💫 St Mungo's Hospital
💫 Peeves
💫 The Quidditch World Cup! pic.twitter.com/XO4F9slw2H

— The Rowling Library (@rowlinglibrary) April 12, 2023

Cons

It’s 2023. If I need to say more than that, here it is: Hollywood is obsessed with changing things and adapting them for a “modern audience” and adding more diversity, even when it is wrong and insulting to do so. Let’s not forget that Hogwarts is located in Scotland, and the series takes place in the 1990s. There were plenty of non-white characters who had their moments to shine, like Dean Thomas and Kingsley Shackelbolt. Why not give them their due in the show? If you give all the characters their rightful spotlight, there is no need to change any of the physical characteristics in the show because the original books were already diverse!

But we know this won’t happen, and this goes against the current narratives. White characters will be race-swapped, just like Hermione Granger was in the Cursed Child play. How much do you want to bet that the Weasley family won’t be ginger anymore or that Harry won’t be white but Middle Eastern or Asian? You can’t have three of the main characters as straight white males and female; that would be an abomination! Their physical attributes were extremely important in the series, but you have to appease the woke mob somehow!

Albus Dumbledore being gay shouldn’t be an issue, and I sure hope he isn’t overtly flamboyant now that everyone in the world knows he is. I think J.K. Rowling handled Dumbledore really well in Fantastic Beasts. After all, being gay isn’t a personality.

We are technically still in the middle of Fantastic Beasts, with the films being released back in 2016, 2018, and 2022. Eddie Redmayne, the star of the series, even said back in January that he hadn’t heard any news about continuing the series. The third film didn’t do well because of the Rowling controversy, Jonny Depp, and Covid-19. There has not been any mention of the fourth and fifth films, making me believe they will never finish them. This series was right there to be finished, but WB was like, “Hold up; let’s remake something that just finished a decade ago. We don’t need originality; we need to stomp on people’s nostalgia and bait them with it! Let the cash flow!”

Some Questions

I already have a few questions about this show that will hopefully be answered soon. How are we going to replace the legendary British cast that comprised of Mark Williams, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Griffiths, Julie Walters, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon, Jason Isaacs, and so many more? In all honesty, not a single person can replace Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape. No one! The new cast, including the children, will all be compared to the original cast from the films. I’ve also noticed that many kids love the books and series as they are, and no one has ever asked for a new show or a reboot, considering the last movie was released in 2011.

Will Hogwarts look the same? I sure hope so! Will the show incorporate the themes from the original films, like John Williams’ music? Will the Fantastic Beasts franchise continue, and if so, will it be in the “same world” as the show or continue to be related to the original Harry Potter movies? Will any of the crew who worked on any of the films (including Fantastic Beasts) be involved in the making of this show? Will the “blue-green” tinge that six out of the eight Potter films were shot with be applied to the show? Will any of the old cast members come back and somehow be involved in the show? A cameo or playing another character? When will this release?

Overall Thoughts

I personally don’t want to see a reboot of the books. There is endless possibility in the Wizarding World, and rebooting an already existing media seems cheap rather than being more than just a cash grab. However, if done properly – meaning there is no agenda other than transforming the source material into a show – then I would be on board. This includes race-swapping, gender-swapping, sexuality-swapping, or any other changes that Hollywood loves to throw at us. It is going to be extremely weird to see new faces appear in the Wizarding World, including merchandise. It’ll be an interesting decade, that is for sure.

What are your opinions about this reboot? Be sure to leave a comment below. Feel free to follow my Instagram, as it is all things Wizarding World-related! Cheers!

I got you covered https://t.co/rSvBPQq2V0

— Superman, if he wasn't scared of Green rocks (@nogreenrocks) April 12, 2023