“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
This post is an opinion post and is not meant to harm anyone. I’m giving my point of view on the topic with an open mind to change.
Well, some choices may be better than others, Dumbledore. For example, there may have been better ideas than rebooting a storyline that ended only 12 years ago.
A Harry Potter TV Show from Warner Bros., Wizarding World and HBO Max (now called Max) has been announced. The announcement has mixed opinions and many questions.
I want to explore and discuss my thoughts on some questions about the TV Show I’ve seen. Why rebooting the original storyline is not the best use of time and money, and what could be a better option.
The first concern is the time between the film’s end and the series’ start.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) hit cinema screens in 2011. We only celebrated the 10th anniversary of the last film in 2021. We are now at 12 years since The Deathly Hallows (part 2) and potentially 13 or 14 years since then by the time production is underway or finished with season one. The consensus is that more time is needed before the original Golden Trio storyline returns to screens in a new form.
For comparison, we haven’t had a reboot of Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings, released between 2001 and 2003. During these years, Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets were released with Prisoner of Azkaban in production in 2003 and released in 2004.
We are 20 years in 2023 since the last Lord of the Rings film and no reboot, so why have a reboot of something that finished only 12 years ago? I was born in 1997; I grew up watching and loving Harry Potter. I’m 26, not 96; there is no need to reboot something that is still relatively new and has a pulse.
(Side Note: I do not include the Amazon Prime Rings of Power series because, as I understand it, the show doesn’t follow the same storyline as the films, meaning it’s separate from the Fellowship and Frodo returning the ring storyline. The Harry Potter TV Show is to follow Harry, Ron and Hermione again, as the books are laid out, like the films, which is where the issue lies.)
Now, does a TV show have more potential than a film series?
Yes. Turning a book series into a TV show allows for more aspects and care to be taken. More storylines and concepts can be explored, allowing for the world to be expanded on, along with nuances and characters that films miss. They can be included to enhance the story on screen through a well-written and adapted TV Show. However, sticking to the story is necessary.
Shadow & Bone is a book series turned TV show that is getting a lot of hype on my social media. I’ve read the Shadow & Bone series, and it was okay. I admittedly DNF’ed the final book as I began to find the story stagnant. However, I am reluctant to watch it after the ShadowHunters TV show. Taking creative liberties with an adaptation is okay, but the core fanbase comes from the book series. They want to see the series played out as the books have. Which ShadowHunters failed to do in certain aspects, in my opinion. The storyline was still well written, but certain parts never grasped the emotional pull, like the books and some storylines, while interesting, weren’t necessary.
The fear may be, will they stick to the books or take too many creative liberties?
They have so much competition since they do this close to the films. The films are hailed as brilliant, holding a special place in people’s hearts, tied tightly to the childhood of many. Competing against that will be tricky, even while pushing for a new feel with nostalgia interwoven.
Also, I have to wonder, is it not a bit insulting to remake something while many actors from the films are still so young?
Imagine working endlessly on something, giving up your entire teenage years, your childhood, to make something too tightly loved by many worldwide, only for some people to say, “We’re remaking it with a new cast.” I’d be devastated.
I don’t think the writers can incorporate Daniel, Rupert, Emma, and the rest of the film cast into the show. The show has said it will be entirely separate from the films, so distinct separation from the original cast is vital. And most importantly, it will completely ruin the immersion if the original cast features in it. It could be possible for them to appear if they wear heavy make-up and costumes, completely disguising themselves and potentially having a non-speaking role so only keen-eyed viewers can spot them, but then is that worth it?
Looking at the cast further, what will the new cast look like?
The big question is their age.
I’d assume for the young cast (students, the main children cast, etc.), they’d hold auditions at local youth groups and schools as they did for the films and try to find children who are good at acting, fit for a role and are unknown. I’d like to see this happen, but I’m more worried about how such young minds will handle the immense pressure they’ll be under, especially since the original cast didn’t have the heavy continuous weight of social media scrutiny to deal with to the extent these children will. These children will have one of the biggest fanbases in the world watching and commenting on them. The internet is a wild and ruthless place that I hope the young cast are protected.
Plus, it will be a hefty contract to sign. Imagine being ten or eleven and having to sign a contract promising that you will play this role from eleven to eighteen or older, depending on how long filming takes. That’s the young cast’s reality since I’ve heard the production plan for one season to equal one book, so seven seasons. I hope there will be loads of protection for them and wish them all the best. It was hefty for the original cast, but they weren’t filming for twenty to thirty hours worth of content, per film/season.
As for the older cast, I’m wondering who they’ll pick.
A lot of British actors had roles throughout the Harry Potter films, many, if not all, of them well-known, so it will be interesting to see who they pick and if they use the remaining British adult actors that never appeared in the original films to fill the roles in the series.
The original film series used a lot of British actors, as JK Rowling stipulated that the cast was to be 100% British before filming. Now, we know that didn’t happen as some actors of other nationalities had roles in the films. Zoë Wanamaker is an example of this; she portrayed Madam Hooch (the Quidditch Professor) and is American. So, the cast wasn’t 100% British, but they were very close. However, it wasn’t a significant deal as I’ve only just found out writing this that Zoë Wanamaker wasn’t British, so you can see how much it impacted my viewing.
I’m interested in how similar the production will be to the original and where the filming locations will be. I know it will be separate from the films, but this is the same story, the universe. How different can they make it?
Now For The Characters.
The characters are a biggie for me. As I said, I was born in 1997, so I was four when Philosopher’s Stone hit the big screen. I was hardly old enough to sit through the film in a quiet cinema, but I watched it when it came out on DVD. (If this information is wrong, I’m sure my parents will correct me if they read this! Love you!) I was hooked upon watching it. I can’t remember which film was my first in the cinema, but I remember seeing Goblet of Fire in the cinema. Anyway, I’m saying I started by watching the films before reading the books. Despite enjoying reading, I wasn’t old enough to read the books myself, and I was in the lowest reading group in my class throughout Primary School.
So, when I got older, I started reading the books. Through the books, I discovered a much richer story of the Wizarding World, with more characters, creatures and places to explore that were left out of the films.
My question is, will the forgotten characters get their chance to shine in the TV show?
Since there will be more time, especially if one episode is about equal to one chapter, characters like Peeves can feature. Nearly Headless Nick’s Deathday Party can have its chance to “shine” as well. I hope they don’t waste this chance to explore these characters and storylines on screen, as I feel this is something many fans missed in the films.
Sticking with characters for a bit, this is more of a plea than an opinion, but please represent the characters as they are in the books.
My two most significant examples are Harry and Snape. Plenty more characters, like McGonagall, Ginny, Ron, Cho, and so on, were portrayed very differently at points or all together. However, I won’t go through them all.
Starting with Harry, he was calmer in the films. Don’t get me wrong, he had his heated moments, and Daniel did him great, but book Harry gave the entire teenage experience and wtf-ness that was felt during some situations. The amount of backchat or sass that Harry lets rip in the books is fantastic! If you’ve not read them, then it is a fun experience seeing Harry in this light. But the sassy attitude, while uncalled for and downright stroppy at some points, gave him more depth. The Dursley raised him! You’re telling me that resulted in a polite young boy who only loses his shit sometimes? No, book Harry was closer to something the Dursley would produce and more like how his Dad was, the troublemaker.
Then there’s Snape.
In the films, Snape is so much nicer. He is a broken man, bullied in his childhood and longing for the girl who married his bully. Tragic and hurtful. Harry resembles his bully, with hints of his lover mixed in. Love mixed with evil. His actions in the films are wrong, and his motives are tap-dancing on the thin line between two moral stands. Snape is the definition of a morally grey character. However, book Snape is a different monster, and a monster he was.
There has always been a battle between Snape was Good and Snape was Bad amongst fans. Each side arguing the other is blind and wrong, while both are technically right. The Snape was Good team is more Team Film Snape was Good. The Snape was Bad team is more Team Book Snape was Bad. As I said, Film Snape had a broken childhood and teenage years, concluding in a confused and dark adulthood. Book Snape had a similar situation, but instead got mixed up with the wrong crowd because they accepted him.
Book Snape basically said, “fuck it, especially you,” and rolled with his hellish thoughts and toed the line with Dumbledore.
An example of his hellish actions and thoughts was how he constantly abused his power over students like Neville. There is one incident during a potions class on the effects of poisonous potions when Snape tries to use Neville’s pet frog, Trevor, to show the results of the potion. His best offer of a “solution” to Neville was ‘hopefully, you’ll work out the antidote potion before the frog dies.’ I think Herimoine knew how to make the antidote, or something stopped Snape from using Trevor, but still, this was close to a weekly occurrence.
Despite that, I want both characters to be experienced like this in the TV show. We’ve experienced a more likeable Snape and a good boy with some outbursts, Harry. I want to see Sassy Harry with a twisted Snape.
There are a few concerns. Most importantly, how much confidence I have in the TV Show. Much can be done, but I have many questions and desires but only one big concern.
Is this a cash grab because the Fantastic Beasts film series failed?
First, I’ve only seen the first Fantastic Beast film and hated it, so I never watched the rest. It was long, drawn out, little story and odd. Fantastic Beasts was produced from a book of about 50 pages and was a Bestiary. There was never a story to properly build from. Sure, JK Rowling could have had the interworkings of Newt’s storyline to herself, but there wasn’t any interest in the Bestiary for adaptation. I’m unsure why they developed that, but I don’t think it was the right move.
It mainly failed because of the Johnny Depp situation, from my knowledge. Even though I didn’t like it, I think it had a decent fanbase if everything with Johnny Depp hadn’t happened. As Warner Bros, and others, dropped him, fans boycotted anyone who went against him. Mads Mikkelsen is an excellent actor, but Depp embodied the character when he was let go. Mikkelsen couldn’t save the production not matter how hard he tried.
Warner Bros may have felt it had to save the franchise somehow as it failed. However, I don’t think it needed saving. After the fall of Fantastic Beasts and the droves of criticism towards The Cursed Child (which screwed the timeline immensely), there may have been a discussion to bring back the Wizarding World into the spotlight.
And fans had been asking for years for new content from the Universe – NOT A REBOOT.
For years, fans have been nearly begging for various storylines to be explored and developed. None were the Fantastic Beast storyline. The ones I can think of right now are The Marauders, The Four Founders, Voldemort‘s origins and the Gaunts. Four storylines have a strong establishment in the story that fans have been craving since the films and books finished. Plus, if done right, would be devoured by new and old fans. Reigniting the Wizarding World flame by delving further into the story.
Imagine following the Marauders. You could do the series from just as Lily gets her letter, meeting Snape and destroying her relationship with Petiuna. Then when she meets the four Marauders follow them. The last scene could be a shot of James and Lily looking down at wee Harry as he goes to sleep, then cut to the outside, and the shot of Voldemort opening the front gate (like from the first film) and ending there. This would be in line with “I end at the beginning”, which was a theme in the books/films. Think of the snitch, Harry’s death and how the first book came out the year the War of Hogwarts happened. It would be perfect, and something fans would consume with their dying breaths.
Ultimately, I am looking forward to what the show will be like. I hope it gives as much as the companies are promising. It’s tricky playing with something with such strong fanbases. Fortunately, Warner Bros. understands that they can play around as if fans don’t like something, they’ll ignore it.
