It's important to remember the ongoing controversial statements by the creator of the Harry Potter franchise. CBR supports the hard work of industry professionals on properties fans know and love, and the wider world of Harry Potter that fans have adopted as their own. You can find CBR's continuing coverage on Rowling here.
Rumors of a Harry Potter television series reboot have been circulating for months, but given author J.K. Rowling's controversies surrounding her anti-transgender comments, many didn't think it would become a reality. Yet, HBO Max is looking to close a deal involving seven seasons to bring each Harry Potter book to television. It already sounds like a creative and unethical potion for catastrophe.
In the current entertainment climate, it's no surprise that a Harry Potter reboot is on its way -- Moana's recent live-action announcement questions whether new stories are allowed in the writer's room anymore. Star Wars has barely branched out from the existing characters that made the franchise popular. However, Harry Potter is a unique case because even the fans who used to have their Hogwarts house in their social media bio are finished with the magical world of disappointment.
J.K. Rowling's Comments Contradict HBO Max's Inclusive Shows
The Harry Potter reboot series is said to be spearheaded at HBO Max -- the same platform that features shows with transgender and non-binary actors, such as Euphoria, The Last of Us and House of the Dragon -- but is being produced by a person who stands by her transphobic viewpoints. From where HBO Max is likely concerned, it's a wrong PR move. The platform already streams another Rowling-produced show C.B. Strike, whose fifth season is based on her book Troubled Blood, which is tainted by transphobic tropes.
From subscribers' point of view, green-lighting another show involving Rowling is condoning -- or at the very least ignoring -- her insensitive comments in favor of a bigger profit. It doesn't align with the many inclusive shows HBO Max already has, throwing a moral compass out the window. But even if Rowling wasn't amid controversies created by her own doing, there are also creative problems with the Harry Potter reboot.
Harry Potter Fans Are Too Attached to the Original Trio
For many people of the Millennial and Gen Z generations, Harry Potter was a part of their childhood. Rowling wasn't too swept up in controversy (probably because of the lack of social media), so the Harry Potter books and movies were an acceptable form of media to consume. But when the first movie was cast, Rowling no longer became the central face of the franchise; it was Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. For eight movies spanning a decade, the three portrayed the members of "The Golden Trio": Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley, respectively. They grew up on the screen before everyone's eyes and became their generation's most respected and adored child actors.
But the Harry Potter reboot is looking to erase them from the picture, which even die-hard fans who still support the franchise won't be happy with. A reboot means recasting the Golden Trio for a new generation of child actors who will be set up to receive an unnecessary amount of hate for replacing the original actors. And even if the show plays with the idea of featuring cameos from the original actors, they likely won't be involved.
All three actors have publicly spoken against Rowling's transphobic comments and have danced around the idea of returning. Radcliffe claimed it's too early to consider revisiting the series, Watson only gave a simple "yes" to Vanity Fair asking if she'd return in 20 years, and Grint has stated he would only return if it were the right time and everyone else was on board. By those conditions, appearing as a Quidditch coach or bystander in Diagon Alley isn't in the cards.
A Harry Potter Reboot Requires Seven Seasons to Tell the Same Story
Most shows nowadays take four to five seasons to wrap up their story, with most in the dark if they'll even make it past the first season. But it seems that HBO Max is preparing for seven seasons of the Harry Potter reboot for each book. Given that most fans are protesting Rowling's work and HBO Max hasn't broken the habit of canceling shows too soon, seven seasons is as fantastical as a Thestral.
And while Rowling and HBO Max hope that fans will return to the Wizarding World one more time, Harry's story has already been told in eight movies. What fans really want are stories that are detached from the Harry Potter name, evident by the popularity of the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy, despite its own backlash. If a Wizarding World show is inevitable, the least it could be is a backstory on the Marauders, which gained traction in the fan-fiction community.
Rowling and Harry Potter aren't going anywhere, even if the majority has rejected her creative works to support basic human decency. Of course, there will be some who will tune in, but who's to say they won't get bored with the same repackaged story? If or when a Harry Potter reboot is coming to HBO Max, chances are it'll crash and burn because it ignored all the red flags waving in the streaming service's face.