This article was originally published on April 4, and updated on April 13
HBO is once again making headlines; no Game of Thrones-related news this time, but the announcement of an HBO-exclusive Harry Potter reboot series, with each season chronicling the seven original novels. Social media reactions are in, and they're mixed, to say the least.
For the best part of two decades, the Harry Potter movies have remained one of the world's biggest cultural phenomena. Following the series of novels by author J. K. Rowling, the franchise enjoyed enormous box office success, leading to the creation of countless video games, a play, spinoff movies, the Harry Potter Studio Tour, and much more.
In recent years, the franchise has fallen from grace due to Rowling's transphobic tweets.
Due to her TERF stance, many have retracted or reframed their Harry Potter fandom to circumvent Rowling's toxic rhetoric.
Rowling's disagreeable comments spurred large-scale controversy around the recent release of Avalanche Software's Hogwarts Legacy, much of which has unfolded on Twitch and Twitter.
Despite Hogwarts Legacy's bumpy release in February 2023, which many fans vocally boycotted, the game has continued to bring in huge viewership numbers on streaming site Twitch, perhaps sparking HBO's decision to announce that a reboot series is in the works.
As per Bloomberg UK, Warner Bros. is nearing a deal to bring the HBO Harry Potter series to life.
The series would see each of the seven books explored in further depth, as many plot lines and characters from the source material were altered, compressed, and erased to best suit the movie format.
"Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.", according to the official blurb shared by HBO.
"We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way," says HBO CEO Casey Bloys in a statement. "Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World."
Since the news broke earlier today, Twitter reactions have been pouring in.
Understandably, many remain strong in their stance to oppose works that line the pockets of Rowling, while others that remain fans of the franchise (many of which are vocal in not aligning with the author's views) have been vocal in their opposition to the remake for several reasons.
Remaking beloved films has, in recent years, increasingly become a Hollywood staple, much to fans' dismay.
Leaning on the thinking of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," fans have been calling for original material to break up the lull of cinematic universes and rehashed media – given the money they bring in, however, it's unlikely to end anytime soon.
Due to the large emotional investment of those on the receiving end of Rowling's comments and those that have gone through childhood and into adulthood with the Harry Potter series, it's no surprise that social media reactions are so impassioned.
As the story develops, debate will likely rage on, with no telling how that could impact the result of the show's potential creation.
