News of an entirely unnecessary Harry Potter reboot isn’t going over great with fans.
HBO intends to re-approach J.K. Rowling’s iconic property with a fresh attempt at the Harry Potter books, this time via a seven-season series, rather than a slew of films. Response to the news has been almost universally negative, as fans deride the too-soon nature of the reboot, as well as the troubling optics of putting yet more money into J.K. Rowling’s transphobic pockets.
Instead of rebooting a completely successful franchise that is additionally less than 15 years old, fantasy fans would far prefer to see a less controversial series get a reset. Maybe HBO can pour its money into The Chronicles of Narnia and give Harry Potter a few more decades to stew.
With Harry Potter on the brain, it’s inevitable that a chunk of longtime Wizarding World regulars might desire a return to the books that started it all. The franchise has grown past Harry’s days at Hogwarts, however, and the proper order to read Rowling’s collection of novels can get a bit confusing.
All the Harry Potter drama is reaching far past Rowling and HBO, and the original cast members from the still-fresh films are inevitably getting dragged into the conversation. Emma Watson has largely side-stepped chatter about who might replace her as Hermione Granger, instead focusing her attention on turning 33 and potentially creating a new copypasta in the process.
Did Emma Watson just create a new copypasta?
Emma Watson — the one and only Hermione Granger in many fans’ minds — recently rang in 33, and celebrated the third year in her third decade via a lengthy post to Instagram. The resulting text, which incorporated plenty of emojis and shout-outs, is already being compared to a copypasta, or “a block of text that is copied and pasted across the internet by individuals through online forums and social networking websites.” In a few years, we might just see Watson’s celebration of therapy, her brother, and the “witches” in her coven littering online forums.
Fantasy fans would prefer a Chronicles of Narnia reboot over more Harry Potter
Nothing against Harry Potter — and everything against J.K. Rowling — but very few people are interested in seeing the transphobic author’s works get a reboot so close to their original adaptations. Instead, many fantasy fans would love to see the Chronicles of Narnia — which was adapted with far less success — get a second shot at the big or small screen. Why redo something that still holds up so well when plenty of other fantasy properties are ripe for the picking?
How to read all the Harry Potter books in order
It might seem like a no-brainer, but not everyone knows how to approach the Harry Potter books. A full seven releases populate the primary body of books — all of which should be read in order of release — but some of Rowling’s later books also fall under the Harry Potter banner. These books don’t all fit comfortably into the same established timeline as other Wizarding World offerings, and it might confuse some readers looking to re-read the entire series. If you’re among them, check out our own Francisca Santos’ breakdown of the correct order to read the iconic books.