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Credit: Inside the MagicIf you’re one of the diehard Potterheads counting down the days until Max’s Harry Potter reboot, we have some bad news.
As was first announced in 2023, the Harry Potter series is one of the latest victims of the reboot treatment. Max (previously known as HBO Max) is set to adapt each of the seven original books written by JK Rowling into its own season of a TV show, ultimately creating an in-depth, more book-accurate adaptation of the series.
Related: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Trailer Arrives Online
What Can We Expect From the ‘Harry Potter’ Reboot?
Considering the fact that it’s been well over a decade since Daniel Radcliffe last stepped onto the big screen as the Boy Who Lived, it should come as no surprise that the entire cast will be refreshed for the Harry Potter TV series. With Rowling reportedly serving as an executive producer, we should theoretically receive a strong new cast for Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and the other inhabitants of the Wizarding World.
The TV reboot should also be able to cover storylines and key character beats that were omitted for timing reasons in the original film adaptations, such as Hermione’s fight for house elf rights throughout the series, Harry exploring Tom Riddle’s full journey to becoming Lord Voldemort in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” and Ginny Weasley actually having a personality (sorry, but the films did Ginny dirty).
Once upon a time, the announcement of fresh Harry Potter content would have been met with unanimous praise. However, we now live in an era where a significant portion of Potterheads have either ditched the Harry Potter franchise completely or are attempting to distance themselves from new content that will put money in the pocket of its creator, JK Rowling herself.
Why Are Potterheads Boycotting the Reboot?
Since 2018, the writer has repeatedly made headlines for her stance on the transgender community and gender identity issues. Frequently dubbed “transphobic,” Rowling has engaged in multiple public spats with transgender figures such as British broadcaster India Willoughby and has even compared the trans community to Death Eaters.
Some of her more infamous moments have seen her compile a thread on X (formerly known as Twitter) in which she equated several prominent trans figures to convicted criminals in light of new hate crime rules introduced in Scotland.
“April Fools!” Rowling wrote after describing each figure as a woman. “Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.” She later went on to add: “Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.”
She later went on to challenge Scottish police to arrest her over her comments. “I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment,” she wrote on X.
Rowling has also publicly denounced both Radcliffe and Emma Watson (who originated the role of Hermione Granger), with both actors previously clarifying that they do not share her opinions on gender identity.
Several other actors, such as Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), have also distanced themselves from Rowling, while others have sided with and defended the author from hate, including Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid), and Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange). Some, like Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), refused to “stab her in the back,” with Isaacs clarifying in 2022 that “she has her opinions, I have mine. They differ in many areas.”
With all this in mind, many Harry Potter fans (both present and former) have made it clear that they will not support the Max reboot, just like they boycotted the video game “Hogwarts Legacy” (which did ultimately go on to become the highest-grossing video game of 2023 regardless, and will most likely receive a sequel).
Bad News for the ‘Harry Potter’ Reboot
For those who are still looking forward to the television series, however, we have some bad news. According to Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, the show still hasn’t managed to pin down its writing team – a whole four months after we originally reported that the series was getting close to finding a showrunner.
Bloys confirmed this fact while talking to Variety ahead of the second season of Game of Thrones spinoff House of Dragon. Addressing upcoming projects for the studio, he revealed that they’re still “in the process” of nailing down this creative approach.
One of the advantages that I think we have as a company, putting aside HBO for a second, is all the Warner Bros. IP. So after ‘House of the Dragon,’ the next big tentpole series that we have coming up will be the ‘Penguin’ with Colin Farrell. That is coming out of Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’ and it’s fantastic. Just like ‘Peacemaker’ came out of James Gunn’s ‘Suicide Squad,’ it’s a really good example of what you can do. That’ll be in September.
And then after that, I don’t know if we landed on a date yet, but later in the fall we’ll have the ‘Dune’ prequel series that is about the origins of the Bene Gesserit. And then going into ’25, we will have Stephen King’s ‘It.’ Warner Bros. has done two films — we’ve got a prequel series of that planned as well. And then obviously, the ‘Harry Potter’ series, further down the line. We’re still in the process of working with writers on their takes.
Finding the writers for this series is just the beginning. Something on the scale of Harry Potter takes time to get right. Pre-production will likely be a lengthy process for the series, with production – and post-production – then also taking its time to complete.
Related: Updates Given on New ‘Harry Potter’ Film Releasing in 2025
With that in mind, we wouldn’t count on Harry Potter 2.0 reaching the silver screen any time soon. What we will receive in the meantime, however, is another reboot (yes, seriously), which is heading for Amazon’s Audible. As was announced earlier this year, this will see a full voice acting cast create a new series of audiobooks for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” through to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
Recently, there have been rumors that JK Rowling’s involvement in Harry Potter may soon come to an end. As per industry insider Jeffrey Sneider, Warner Bros. Discovery has allegedly been interested in buying Rowling – who is notoriously strict about her creative involvement with new Harry Potter projects – out of the franchise.
Are you excited for the Harry Potter reboot?