New fan-made Harry Potter portraits using AI technology were recently shared online, conjuring up scarily book-accurate renditions of the fantasy series' cast of characters.Created by Imgur artist msbananaanna, the headshots were produced by combining author J.K. Rowling's original character descriptions and machine learning-powered platform Artbreeder. The results are striking, with many fans even comparing the portraits' likenesses favorably to their live-action counterparts in the Harry Potter movies. Others argued that certain images validated the filmmakers' casting decisions, such as in the case of Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.
The Harry Potter novel series wrapped up in 2007, following the publication of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The franchise was subsequently kept alive by other multimedia projects, including several feature films, including the 2009 adaptation of the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as a two-part retelling of Deathly Hallows released in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
More recently, Warner Bros. and Rowling teamed up to create the Fantastic Beasts spinoff franchise, which kicked off with 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Although that film performed well critically and commercially, its sequels The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore were both marred by mixed reviews and flagging ticket sales. Although Warner Bros. previously announced a further two Fantastic Beasts installments, the studio is now reportedly waiting to tally up The Secrets of Dumbledore's box office total before deciding whether the franchise still has a future.
Many industry analysts are convinced that the series' best hope for survival rests in a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie, based on the hit 2016 play of the same name. "There's still a lot of directions that Warner could take the Wizarding World in the long-term, but right now they need to get back to what people like most about it and that's Harry," Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock said in a recent interview. "Whether it's a Cursed Child adaptation or something else, the next project should be something closer to the books that builds an appetite for a spinoff that can really branch out the way the first Fantastic Beasts did."
If Warner Bros. does indeed pursue a Cursed Child adaptation, it will face at least one major roadblock: star Daniel Radcliffe doesn't want to play Harry Potter -- for now, at least. "I’m never going to say never, but the Star Wars guys had like 30, 40 years before they went back. For me, it’s only been 10. It’s not something I’m really interested in doing right now," Radcliffe explained.
Source: Imgur