‘Harry Potter’ Reboot More Likely Than Ever as Wizarding World Support Collapses

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Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald in 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'

Credit: Warner Bros.

Things aren’t looking so good for the Wizarding World, and for once it has nothing to do with dark wizards and Death Eaters. While it may seem sudden, there has been trouble brewing within the Harry Potter franchise for quite some time, and it all dates back to 2018.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) was the first entry in the Harry Potter film series to have divided the fanbase, while also leaving critics unimpressed. It may have turned in $654 million at the global box office, but it was the lowest-grossing film in the entire franchise.

Johnny Depp in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Credit: Warner Bros.

Related: All 10 ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Ranked Worst to Best

However, that all changed this year with the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022). The third entry in the the Harry Potter film franchise has made even less than its predecessor, having grossed over $400 million worldwide.

It has also received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, so it’s fair to say that things are looking fairly bleak for the Wizarding World, which is a real shame from the point of view of the Fantastic Beasts movies, when you consider just how magical the original 2016 film is.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Credit: Warner Bros.

But, much like the hugely controversial Star Wars sequel trilogy, it has become increasingly clear that the Fantastic Beasts series lacks direction. But if that were the only cloud hanging over this franchise’s head, then all it would take is a simple rectification charm to put things right.

In the four years since Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, a storm of controversy has shrouded the franchise in darkness, not unlike something you’d expect to see in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011). And this controversy isn’t just Johnny Depp-related.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Credit: Warner Bros.

Related: ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Franchise May Be Canceled, Could End Years Early

The iconic actor has become a household name all over again due to the infamous trial that recently ended, which saw Depp win the defamation suit against his ex-wife. However, while his exit from the Fantastic Beasts movies posed problems, cracks quickly surfaced elsewhere.

Wizarding World creator JK Rowling has been at the heart of plenty of controversy, after she previously shared Tweets that were viewed as anti-trans. Meanwhile, Ezra Miller, who plays Credence Barebone in the spin-off movies, was recently arrested on two occasions for assault.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Credit: Warner Bros.

Around the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), which was a critical and financial success, it was revealed that Warner Bros. intended to release five films in the Fantastic Beasts series, but now, that plan has a pretty big question mark hanging over it.

The trouble is that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in no way marks the end of the series, meaning that at least one more movie would be needed to conclude the story first established in 2016. But based on box office figures, will we get another entry as promised?

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Credit: Warner Bros

It was recently reported that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is reportedly considering a “reset” of the entire Harry Potter film series, and not just Fantastic Beasts. While nothing concrete has been confirmed, this is looking more likely by the day.

And it’s not just the Fantastic Beasts movies that are giving the Harry Potter brand a bad name — it’s also being mired by all the off-screen controversy surrounding its stars and JK Rowling herself. The question is, can the Wizarding World recover without being rebooted?

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Credit: Warner Bros.

Only time will tell, but seeing as Warner Bros. isn’t in possession of a Time-Turner, it’s entirely possible that there are plans to wipe the slate clean. Perhaps they’ll use the popular multiverse concept to do so, which has quickly become a common plot device in blockbuster films.

The two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016), which is considered canon, utilizes the Time-Turner in order to create alternate timelines, so it’s not far-fetched to think that Warner Bros. may use such a plot device to reset the Wizarding World timeline.

Ezra Miller as Credence Fantastic
Credit: Warner Bros.

Related: ‘Harry Potter’ Star Addresses JK Rowling Transgender Controversy For the First Time

But even if this does happen, the Harry Potter movies will still be there. It’s just unfortunate that we have yet another film franchise that has been dragged through the dirt by poor installments and controversy (perhaps Harry Potter and Star Wars have more in common than we think).

Later this year, fans will also be able to shape the Wizarding World as they see fit, with the open-world game Hogwarts Legacy (2022). So not all hope is lost. Let’s just hope that Warner Bros. figures out a way to manage all this mischief without using their own version of a Time-Turner.

Fantastic Beasts Eddie Redmayne
Credit: Warner Bros
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore stars Eddie Redmayne (Newt Scamander), Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore), Daniel Fogler (Jacob Kowalski), Mads Mikkelsen (Gellert Grindelwald), Ezra Miller (Credence Barebone), and Katherine Waterson (Tina Goldstein), and is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Do you think Warner Bros. will reboot Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments down below!

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