Harry Potter series announced: is it necessary or plain Riddikulus?

My first thought whenever I hear about this franchise is “Will we ever hear the end of it?” With 25 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released, surely people would have grown tired of it by now? I appreciate the irony of me writing an article on it, but I thought some points needed to be made.

Surprisingly enough I never had an intense Harry Potter phase, the films and books captured my interest for a while, but I moved onto the next thing quite quickly. I was more of a Winnie the Witch or The Worst Witch fan as a child. However, I do appreciate why people feel a connection to the show with its sense of magic and nostalgia. I don’t think I’ll be on my own when I say that any charm that it did have was lost when the author decided to alienate a large portion of her fanbase with her transphobia.

The author of the series (who shall not be named) is the Executive Producer for the new TV series reboot, which is rumoured to be released in 2025/2026. Each novel is expected to have a season dedicated to it, which is a staggering commitment of 7 seasons from Max (formally HBO Max). That is a lot of time, effort and money which could be channelled into a brand-new concept which would give an opportunity for up-and-coming creatives to break into the industry. Of course, the new casting will allow new talent to be discovered, but I think the remake is too soon after the original films for the remake to make more of an impact than the first. A positive though is that the original cast might finally escape being associated with her and her work, as they have since moved on in their careers and personal lives. Daniel Radcliffe recently became a father, Rupert Grint has starred in Apple TV’s The Servant for the past 3 years, and Emma Watson, after taking a break from acting has co-created a gin brand with her brother.

It is not just WarnerBros and Max that are focusing on remakes since Disney has increased their production of live-action versions of their classics since 2010. The Harry Potter reboot just feels like a chance for her to prove that she can still make money from the franchise and an attempt for her to save her image, with the series format giving less room for her to invent imaginary characters.

Hopefully it’ll be a chance for her to showcase her commitments to diversity and representation, which her original novels lack. I doubt that will be the case, but maybe magic does exist?