By Brandon T. McClure
When Game of Thrones was first adapted into a TV series, Harry Potter fans began wondering about the possibility of a series adaptation of Harry Potter. But a lot has changed in the 13 (going on 14) years since. Now it might not be such a great idea.
In April 2023, 12 years after the final movie was released and 1 year since the end of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it had greenlit a series adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s world-famous novels. While there were certainly some excited voices, the temperature of the announcement was lukewarm at best, and due to Rowling's increasing unpopularity, this may prove to be another miscalculation from the struggling film studio.
The first Harry Potter movie came out in 2001 and launched an unbelievable phenomenon the likes of which have only been rivaled by the MCU. Adapted from the 1997 book of the same name Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, this marked the beginning of one of the most successful motion picture franchises of all time. Through 8 films in 10 years, not to mention the seven books, there was an entire generation that grew up with the franchise, characters, and actors. The hold the franchise has on the millennial generation cannot be understated. Warner Bros. was eager to continue the franchise beyond the books through a stage show, theme park experiences, and series of prequel movies, all under the “Wizarding World” brand and overseen by J.K. Rowling herself.
In 2013, Warner Bros. announced that they would be moving forward with a prequel film centered around the fictional author of the in-universe book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which would also be the title of the film. Fans were, of course, excited by the prospect of more within the Wizarding World, especially since it was going to explore the American wizarding community in the 1920s. The film would mark the screenwriting debut of J.K. Rowling herself! The film was released in 2016 to fairly good reviews from both critics and audiences (74% and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes respectively) and went on to gross $814 million. Sure it wasn’t the $1.3 billion that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 went on to make, but it would have been silly to expect it to. Warner Bros. had a hit on their hands and immediately greenlit the sequel.
A month before the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, J.K. Rowling told fans at a Fantastic Beasts event that there are five films planned in this prequel series. Two years later, in 2018, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald was released, but did not receive the same success its predecessor had. With only $654 million at the box office and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 36% (Critics) and 53% (Audience), things were not looking good for the sophomore outing of this prequel series. Then four years later, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released which would signal the end of J.K. Rowling’s prequel series.
In the time between the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, J.K. Rowling became a very unpopular figure. Beginning in 2018 she began down a “pipeline” that would reveal herself to be deeply, and viciously, transphobic. Millennials are often considered, with few exceptions, to be a mildly progressive generation. The reason for this is cited to be the media that they grew up with. Everything, including Harry Potter, taught lessons of inclusion and acceptance of other people's identities. So it was beyond disheartening when J.K. Rowling began spouting the belief that trans people don’t exist and are just “confused.” A timeline of her descent into transphobia was put together by theweek.com.
Many of the stars of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Eddie Redmayne, and Katherine Waterston (who was written out of the third film likely for speaking out), immediately spoke out in support of trans people’s rights to exist and began to distance themselves from her (which she has taken very poorly). Many Harry Potter fan communities, such as MuggleNet and The Leaky Cauldron, denounced Rowling’s views and tried to distance themselves from her as best they could. Melissa Anelli, of The Leaky Cauldron, told Variety that the reason why they haven’t updated their podcast was because “Every time we sit down to have a fun conversation about Harry Potter, the conversation becomes angry and depressing, and so we end up not publishing.” She continues by echoing the feelings many millennials have towards the Harry Potter creator: “It’s made it less pure and exciting and fun the way it used to be. All of that now has this layer of, ‘Right, but the person at the center of it all believes a certain faction of the population isn’t real.’” Any ethical consumption of the franchise is made difficult due to the amount of control she has over the franchise.
Her ravings and the poor quality of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald no doubt contributed to the general disinterest of audiences towards Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Making only $400 million at the box office, the lowest in the franchise’s history, and reaching only a 46% critics score (in fairness it does have an 83% audience score). After the release of the film, Warner Bros. Discovery decided to abandon their plans for five films and settled for three. However, many reasons can be attributed to the failure of the film. 2022 was still a pandemic year, and audiences might have still been hesitant to go to the theater (even though three films hit $1 billion). The main characters of the prequel franchise were also struggling to connect with audiences in the same meaningful way as those from the original series. Maybe fans just weren’t interested in Newt Scamander. But, regardless, J.K. Rowling had become a rather unpopular figure since she was also the main credited screenwriter (Steve Kloves did return to co-write the third film), and critics agreed that she wasn’t a very good one.
Regardless of how critics and audiences felt about her screenwriting, Warner Bros. Discovery is devoted to keeping her on board for the new series. A spokesperson for HBO told Variety that “[we] are proud to once again tell the story of Harry Potter — the heartwarming books that speak to the power of friendship, resolve and acceptance,” the statement continued. “J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement.” Variety also notes that her entire online personality has been consumed by her anti-trans rhetoric. Posting over 200 times about her hateful views on X in the past two months. Conversely, she’s only posted about Harry Potter 8 times in that same amount of time.
Another aspect going against the new series is the fact that there’s no evidence to suggest that the post-millennial generations even care about Harry Potter. Millennials are fiercely devoted to Harry Potter, even willing to continue supporting the franchise despite Rowling’s views. However, a survey from Morning Consult suggests that Gen Z has a very different opinion of the franchise. Many have made fun of millennials for their continued obsession with Harry Potter, and only 14% have identified as fans themselves. Gen Alpha is even less likely to be interested in Harry Potter, and they’re the generation that will be represented in the series. The series could likely win them over, but it’s very clear that the fanbase is very heavily skewed towards millennials.
The new streaming series is going to sport an astronomical cost. The first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+, likely the untitled Harry Potter series contemporary, had a per-episode budget of $12 - $15 million. It’s unlikely the Harry Potter series will be made for less and the budget will only increase every season. If the goal for the series is to adapt a book a season, that’ll be seven seasons. In this current streaming market, shows rarely make it past three seasons. But, even with that said, the series will also air on HBO, rather than solely on Max. This means that the return doesn’t need to be quite as high as a streaming show. As Tylor Starr, Potter fandom expert and co-author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Vegan Cookbook, puts it “There are so many fans who deeply disagree with what Rowling is saying, but still want to engage in the Harry Potter fandom.” But the major question remains: Are millennials enough to get that return and will it attract Gen Z and Gen Alpha?
While the movies cast millennials in the lead roles, this new show will be looking to cast Gen Alpha in the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. But the landscape has drastically changed since the films came out. “You can’t fault somebody for wanting to do the job. But the internet and the fandom and the politics of it all are probably going to demand that they say something. If you don’t, people are going to automatically assume that you agree with Rowling,” Kat Miller, creative director of MuggleNet and coauthor of The Unofficial Harry Potter Companion says. She was mostly referring to the adult roles, but the same can also be applied to the child roles. Fans are often very outspoken on social media, and the comparisons they’ll likely make to the original film actors could potentially create a toxic environment for these kids. Kids who are 11-12 years old shouldn’t be subjected to that kind of environment.
There’s also the question of whether or not this is necessary. Like Disney remaking their beloved animated films into live-action, is there a demand for a more faithful adaptation of the books? The movies are so beloved by fans that it’s hard to imagine any other actors taking on those roles. Sure the books left many things out, but the consensus of the films is very positive. It’s incredibly unlikely that Warner Bros. Discovery could recapture the magic (pun intended) with this series. The movies are a generation-defining event, and the show will constantly be compared to them for however long it runs. With likely two years before each season’s release (just judging by the current production timeline of these types of shows), it’ll be hard for an audience to grow up with these actors, which was a large reason why the movies connected with audiences in the way that they did.
At the end of the day, who really knows how well this series will do? It’s aiming for a 2026 release and is currently being developed by Succession alums Francesca Gardiner, as showrunner, and Mark Mylod, as director. Casting is underway and a writer's room is being assembled. There is no stopping this series and WBD is determined to keep Rowling involved, despite many fan theories claiming they want to buy her out. The dismal quality of the Fantastic Beasts movies and her hateful personality/identity have clearly done some damage. But it's hard to know just how much until the series comes out. No matter what, HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery have an uphill battle ahead of them with this show.