Harry Potter Reboot Doomed If Fans Can’t Get Past One Thing
A new Harry Potter series is in the works, but the reboot of the popular book series may be sorely affected if fans can’t get past J.K. Rowling’s involvement in the show. Gen Z has already officially “canceled” the author due to her controversial outlook regarding transgender people, and her reputation has not fully recovered from the situation.
J.K. Rowling’s Statements
Even the main players in the Harry Potter movies have publicly spoken against J.K. Rowling’s statements.
Daniel Ratcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all thrown pushback her way, and Rowling has continued unphased.
The new Harry Potter show will be an MAX original once finished. It’s estimated that the show might be ready to stream in 2025/26, and a deal regarding the full extent of J.K. Rowling’s involvement in making the new show has been one of the biggest hurdles to tackle on the path to completion.
Harry Potter Story Belongs To Rowling
The story of Harry Potter creatively belongs completely to J.K. Rowling, so the author has a lot of say in any specific exploitation of her work.
Officially, the agreement reached between Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment places Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts as executive producers.
The Harry Potter series will be produced with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling’s company, Brontë Film and TV. The latter was founded in a joint effort between Rowling and Neil Blair, her literary agent, back in 2012.
The company has recently seen a serious decline (74 percent) in production profits over the last year, making the job of producing the new Harry Potter series a huge deal for the business.
However, the new series is still a somewhat risky project, given the effect of the social media wreckage left behind by some of J.K. Rowling’s posts.
Though Harry Potter and the rest of the bunch at Hogwarts have nothing to do with the social media posts J.K. Rowling is under fire for, the franchise could face an uphill battle as a television series.
The controversy with the famed author began with a simple “No”. Rowling posted a social media image of a projection on a building stating “Repeat after us: Trans women are WOMEN!”, to which Rowling responded … “No”. She probably could have walked away from that incident relatively unscathed, but she kept going with her anti-trans statements.
Regarding the illegal nature of her comments in her home country, the Harry Potter author conjured up yet another sarcastic social media post mocking the idea.
J.K. Rowling said on X she would “happily do two years (in jail) if the alternative is compelled speech and forced denial of the reality and importance of sex”.
Rowling Mocks The Situation
J.K. Rowling even went as far as to publicly mock the situation. In yet another X (formerly Twitter) post, the artist chattered on about what job she might have while in prison.
She said, “Hoping for the library, obviously, but I think I could do ok in the kitchens. Laundry might be a problem. I have a tendency to shrink stuff/turn it pink accidentally. Guessing that won’t be a major issue if it’s mostly scrubs and sheets, though.”
Too Many What Ifs?
In light of the dark cloud of social media looming over Rowling’s reputation, a new Harry Potter series certainly comes with many “what ifs.” What if people are just too mad to care about the new series, even if it’s really good?
What if the whole project goes under because of J.K. Rowling’s tumultuous relationship with the public? What if everyone loves the show? Does that make them terrible people? Will viewers face a moral dilemma in their decision to watch?
