During Wednesday’s big wave of announcements—including rebranding the streaming service from “HBO Max” to just “Max”—Warner Bros. Discovery has officially confirmed that it has ordered a scripted series based on the Harry Potter books. For 10 years…and it will be executive produced by JK Rowling.
Now that the rumored drama has been confirmed, there is a huge reaction from fans online:to be forgotten” all.
According to the announcement, the series will feature an entirely new cast as iconic characters and is promised to be a “faithful adaptation” of the books. “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of the books is important to me,” Rowling said in a statement.
In response, many Potter-obsessed Muggles had our own reaction: What’s the point?
“All the Rowling stuff aside, they used the same logo, the same music, and even the same castle as the movies for the little teaser of the Harry Potter show.” Alex Zalben of Decider tweeted, during the WBD live broadcast event. “Like, what does that mean? Are there theme parks based on the actors and the look of the movies?
Well, that rage—the same thing that followed every major studio announcement of an expensive, unnecessary remake of projects that were excellent as it was—was secondary to the main sentiment. Despite widespread condemnation of Rowling’s outspoken and dangerously transphobic comments, the primary anger was disgust after it was confirmed that Rowling would be directly involved in it. And so, of course, Rowling will also benefit greatly from it.
When asked whether her reactions to Rowling’s anti-trans comments and her views would affect the talent’s interest in appearing on the show, Casey Bloys, CEO and president of content at HBO and Max, said, “This is a very online conversation, very nuanced and complex and not something we’re going to get into. .Our priority is what’s on the screen. Frankly, the Harry Potter story is incredibly positive and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority – what’s on the screen.
There’s also the question of whether anyone will watch it, whether it makes sense or worth to meticulously remake a franchise that has already been adapted into a seven-movie series.
take one last hollywood reporter Amazon’s Prime Studios feature on stable content and what its subscribers are watching. One of his shocking takeaways was how small the audience numbers were. Rings of Power. series, based Lord of the Rings, famously the most expensive TV show of all time, is an expensive bet on the assumption that all of Middle-earth would eagerly watch it. But according to hollywood reporterthat didn’t exactly happen.
Commerce reported that only 37 percent of Prime customers who started the series finished the series. In terms of context, a 50 percent completion rate “would be a solid but not spectacular result.” These metrics aren’t particularly great for a show that costs a lot of money and is based on a franchise with such a solid fan legacy, it’s fair to assume it’s a guaranteed hit.
With that, compared to this Harry Potter gamble, VariationAllison Herman tweeted, “rings of power was *basically* an adaptation of the original story and only 37 percent of people watched it all!! Is there any appetite for a true remake of a more recent story?
On a purely anecdotal and observational level, I would say there is a much greater cultural appetite and enthusiasm for the original Harry Potter books and characters. (These Fantastic Beasts may return to places where we couldn’t find them.) It wouldn’t surprise me that those who view the Wizarding World as a prized possession adjust to watch this new series in large numbers. Then again, you have to reckon with how much Rowling’s actions have tarnished the brand, how betrayed fans felt about it, and that they could possibly boycott the project on principle.
“Girl now, shamefully watch later” is a common mantra in our culture. Maybe Warner Bros. Discovery’s biggest bet this week was on that.
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