Credit: Warner Bros.Despite getting off to a divisive start, it looks like Hogwarts Legacy (2023) is already incredibly popular, and as it’s unlikely we’ll ever get another Fantastic Beasts sequel, could a Hogwarts Legacy movie be the best way forward for Warner Bros.?
In the months leading up to its release, Hogwarts Legacy came under fire from several fans who boycotted it due to its ties with author JK Rowling, following her infamous tweets regarding gender identity politics that upset members of the trans community.
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However, now that it’s been released onto PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series, Hogwarts Legacy is set to be the biggest gaming title of the year, and has already filled the vaults beneath the real-world version of Gringotts (Warner Bros.) with giant heaps of gold.
The truth is that nothing was going to stand in its way. An open-world game that allows players to explore the Wizarding World, create their own characters, learn how to brew potions and master spells, and tame fantastic beasts? Come on.
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Meanwhile, the fate of the Wizarding World where the silver screen is concerned has been seemingly left to chance, as Albus Dumbledore might say. While rumors of a reboot and a recasting persist, no one really knows what’s going on with the new Harry Potter film.
Given the poor critical and box office performances of the last two Fantastic Beast films, though, it’s likely that we won’t get a fourth film in the Harry Potter spin-off series. Either way, another film is inevitable. But will it be a Hogwarts Legacy movie?
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Well, there are rumors that Hogwarts Legacy might be developed into a television series for HBO Max — but take that with a big pinch of salt. After all, there have been rumors of a HBO Harry Potter series for years now, yet nothing has ever come to light.
Alongside those rumors were talks of a big-screen reboot of West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016). While some of the Harry Potter actors have expressed an interest in reprising their roles in such a project, it doesn’t look like that’s happening either.
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And maybe that’s a good thing. Do we really want another Fantastic Beasts installment, given the fact that the last two films wielded about as much magic as Argus Filch? Or a big-screen reboot of The Cursed Child, whose plot is as thin as parchment?
What we would like is a Time-Turner, so that we can go back and make a few changes. But seeing as that’s impossible, we’ll settle for all the magic Hogwarts Legacy allows us to wield instead. And a Hogwarts Legacy movie could be the answer Warner Bros. is looking for.
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Hogwarts Legacy could be the massive “reset” Warner Bros. has been reportedly looking to do for many months now, which could mean that we’ll get a big-screen adaption (or small screen) of the already-popular video game.
And why not? Seeing as the game takes place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the late 1800s, it’s not like a new Harry Potter film based on the game would step on the toes of the Harry Potter timeline, or even that of Fantastic Beasts, for that matter.
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If Warner Bros. isn’t willing to use a Time-Turner to do some much-needed retconning and resetting, then perhaps Hogwarts Legacy really is the best way to start over. With that said, if a game alone has garnered a whirlwind of controversy, a Hogwarts Legacy movie would definitely stir a lot more than just cauldrons…
Check out the official cinematic trailer for Hogwarts Legacy below:
Hogwarts Legacy serves as a loose prequel to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Michael Gambon in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 (2011).
Along with Simon Pegg (Phineas Nigellus Black) and Luke Youngblood (Everett Clopton), other Hogwarts Legacy actors are Sebastian Croft and Amelia Gething (the main character/Fifth Year student), Lesley Nicol (Deputy Head Professor Matilda Weasley), Kandace Caine (Divination Professor Onai), Sohm Kapila (Astronomy Professor Satyavati Shah), Asif Ali (Ravenclaw student Mahendra Pehlwaan), and Jason Anthony (Nearly Headless Nick and the Sorting Hat).
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As per the official Hogwarts Legacy website, here’s the synopsis for the game:
Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. For the first time, experience Hogwarts in the 1800s. Your character is a student who holds the key to an ancient secret that threatens to tear the wizarding world apart. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world. Your legacy is what you make of it.
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PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Hogwarts Legacy are on sale now. PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC versions will be released on February 10, while the Nintendo Switch version will be released on July 25.
Would you like to see a Hogwarts Legacy movie? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!