It’s been a decade since the book release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It’s time to start thinking about a Harry Potter reboot!
Four years ago, we wrote about 7 reasons we want a Harry Potter reboot — and three reasons why we thought we wouldn’t get one. And while those same seven reasons still stand, here are four reasons why I think we could get a rebooted television series.
Audiences are used to remakes and reboots
While it may seem jarring — even sacrilegious — to even begin thinking about a reboot, take note that in the ten years since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we’ve witnessed the following: two different movie versions of Batman and the Hulk and three different versions of Spider-Man.
For good or ill, we live in an era of reboots and remakes. A world in which Disney seems intent on mining every bit of our childhood by coming out with remakes of all our favorite childhood films, and MTV announces that they’re rebooting Teen Wolf before the show is even over.
If the third iteration of Spider-Man in fifteen years can still post a $117 million dollar opening weekend, then there’s still definitely an audience out there for one of the most beloved and financially successful book and movie franchises of all time.
Television now has the production value and scale to do justice to the books
When the first movie came out in 2001, what could be done on television in terms of scale and effects just couldn’t compare to what movies could accomplish. In order to really capture the spectacular scale and world building of a story like Harry Potter, it needed to be on film.
However, it’s been 16 years since that first movie came out, and television has done quite a bit of catching up. Both the scale and the intricate world building required to make Harry Potter exquisitely magical and engaging are now possible on the small screen.
Shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, along with Netflix’s Marco Polo, with their high production values and even higher budgets, show exactly the sort of visuals, scenery and attention to details that could make a Harry Potter reboot successful.
And while more expensive shows definitely come with a lot more risk and expectation — and are therefore more likely to be cancelled — it’s likely that a well-made Harry Potter reboot would enjoy the same popularity and success that a show like Game of Thrones has been able to sustain for seven straight seasons.
There’s plenty of book material left to explore
As much I enjoyed the movies, I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m still disappointed — and a little bit bitter — at how much of the books were left out of them.
Of course, this isn’t that much of a surprise given the fact that the movies were tasked with condensing five and six hundred paged books into two hour films. However, it was always incredibly frustrating to see so many added story lines and character changes when there was already so much good stuff in the books.
Some of the most iconic parts of the book that the movies left out completely. For example, scenes like the one with Neville’s parents in St. Mungo’s, easily one of the most evocative in the entire series, were simply given a one minute explanation.
Meanwhile, a majority of the Marauder’s backstory, Ron’s entire characterization, and the most epic burn in the history of Hogwarts were left out completely. Honestly, the fact that the movies left out “there’s no need to call me ‘sir,’ Professor” is reason enough to want a reboot.
A high quality, high production value television series would provide ample time to fully flesh out characters and their arcs, develop greater worldbuilding and include story arcs that fans sorely missed in the movies.
The world has changed — and so have fandom expectations
The ten years since the final book’s release has likewise given fans ample time to analyze, think about and write about specific characters and their arcs.
As a result, characters such as Snape and Dumbledore have been discussed and debated with far more complexity than the movies — and sometimes the books themselves — afforded them.
Incorporating these more nuanced takes regarding the characters themselves would not only draw the interests of long-time fans, it would also intrigue the more curious and skeptical viewers as well. It would give us a show that left it open for discussion as to whether someone was a hero or a villain, rather than having it pointed out to you.
A television reboot would also have the breathing room to do what the movie didn’t make time for, what the books only often implied and what many viewers crave on their screens — examples of strong female friendships.
For instance, we know that Hermione was close to Ginny, but because the books are told from Harry’s perspective, we never really get to see that friendship being built or even get to look at it all that closely.
A television series would allow us to view storylines and character interactions that were limited by either a movie running time or a limited character perspective.
Finally, as iconic as the casting for the film was, in subsequent years there’s been more and more of a desire to see a more inclusive world of magic and muggles than we saw on the screen.
A reboot that included the popular fandom idea of a Black Hermione and either a Desi or mixed race Harry Potter would not only build a more inclusive fictional world, it would provide a new generation of Harry Potter fans with lead, heroic characters of color.
Rebooting Harry Potter with a more inclusive ‘Golden Trio’ — one of the most iconic groups of heroes in the last twenty years — would likewise open up the fantastic world of Harry Potter to those who may have once felt shut out of it. It would provide something new for long-term fans and entice new ones to take a look at a story they might otherwise have disregarded.
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