The news that Warner Bros is working on a deal for a Harry Potter TV series could be good for the Wizarding World franchise—but bad for Fantastic Beasts and the possibility of a Cursed Child movie. Love and interest in the franchise as a whole have remained strong. Still, the low performance of Fantastic Beasts and the various controversies surrounding author J.K. Rowling has put the world of Harry Potter in a rocky place. A potential series could change this, but it would likely mean the end of other Wizarding World projects.
A Harry Potter TV reboot is close to a deal. The series would dedicate a season to each of Rowling's acclaimed books, which would mean an opportunity to dive further into the events surrounding Harry during his years at Hogwarts. The problem with this news is that it comes when Fantastic Beasts' is still incomplete (and on shaky legs) and amongst rumors of a potential Cursed Child adaptation—and it's unlikely that a TV series, Fantastic Beasts 4, and a Cursed Child movie could all be a reality.
Harry Potter's TV Show Remake Is Another Nail In Fantastic Beasts' Coffin
Following the conclusion of the Harry Potter movies, Fantastic Beasts should have been a success. It had every opportunity to fill in the mysterious details of Albus Dumbledore's past, enhancing the story audiences already knew and loved. However, with each subsequent film, Fantastic Beasts seemed to lose more of what made Harry Potter great. The franchise was supposed to include five films, which would, assumedly, end in Dumbledore and Grindelwald's famous battle. However, the third movie, Secrets of Dumbledore, performed so poorly that a fourth installment seemed questionable.
Therefore, the news that Warner Bros is looking to return to the basics of the Wizarding World franchise and reboot Harry Potter's story indicates that Fantastic Beasts is dead. Even if the planned fourth and fifth movies went into production, the buzz over a series telling the story audiences already know and love—especially with the promise that it would dedicate much more time to a book-accurate adaptation—would sap away any interest that might have been left in the Dumbledore-centered prequel. Warner Bros would likely know this, so Fantastic Beasts would be ready for its funeral if a deal goes through.
Harry Potter's TV Show Makes A Cursed Child Movie Adaptation Harder
Even with the failure of Fantastic Beasts, the dedicated following the world of Harry Potter has developed over the years has made it clear that the franchise still has a future. This was demonstrated by the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which earned several awards and is now performed worldwide. This has inspired discussion of Cursed Child getting a film adaptation, with director Christopher Columbus (via People) even saying he would be willing to take on the project if the original cast were to return. This is an exciting prospect, but one made unlikely by a Harry Potter TV series.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child takes place 19 years after Harry's defeat of Voldemort. Therefore, if Warner Bros begins airing a Harry Potter series that starts back when Harry was 11, it would be bizarre to have a film released around the same time that sees him as a 37-year-old man. Additionally, assuming Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint return for a Cursed Child movie, it would make it even more difficult for audiences to accept a new young cast as the Golden Trio. So, if the entire story is being remade, a sequel would likely be held off until after it was completed.
Why A Harry Potter Remake Is Better/Worse Than Fantastic Beasts & Cursed Child
The idea of a Harry Potter remake of any kind will make many fans feel equally as uneasy as they are intrigued. The films have become beloved by several generations of audiences, and tampering with them could ultimately prove fatal to their legacy. If anything, the poor performance of Fantastic Beasts should indicate that Harry's story needs to be left alone. Though Cursed Child has performed well in the on-stage spectacle of practical effects, its story has been criticized for retconning Harry Potter canon and lore. A Harry Potter reboot risks taking this even further.
However, a Harry Potter TV series has the opportunity to do something that Fantastic Beasts and Cursed Child could not—remedy the plot lines that were left out of the movies. Several beloved characters had their arcs nearly thrown out to fit Harry's story into eight feature films, and a TV series could ensure that each got the screen time they always deserved. The stories, themes, and nuanced details of the Harry Potter books could be further explored—and even enhanced—in a longer-format screen adaptation. So, it could just be worth ruining other adaptations.
