Harry Potter TV Series in the works

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

So apparently HBOMAX is close to remaking Harry Potter as a TV series. It will run seven seasons, one for each book. No, this isn't April Fools.

Casting should be...interesting.

[Mr. Who 919]

4 hours ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

So apparently HBOMAX is close to remaking Harry Potter as a TV series. It will run seven seasons, one for each book. No, this isn't April Fools.

Casting should be...interesting.

I’m a huge fan of the books and movies but I think this is way too soon, the last film was released 12 years ago. Recasting all the characters will be so strange, especially for the older characters.

[Bilbo 3,709]

53 minutes ago, Mr. Who said:

I’m a huge fan of the books and movies but I think this is way too soon, the last film was released 12 years ago. Recasting all the characters will be so strange, especially for the older characters.

Same. It just feels too soon for this. 
 

Since Jo is on board I’d rather a fresh story from her and then maybe experienced TV people to run it and develop it for her. 
 

But the milking of franchises is getting a bit stale now. Can we not get something new?

[Sweeping Strings 2,363]

Yeah ... apart from this Potter news, 2 of those Paramount properties mentioned in Jay's post have already had an original and a remake.   

[Gurkensalat 340]

I think Potter as a TV series is a great idea, if they stay closer to the books in the later seasons (4-7). By that I do not only mean that they should cut less, but also avoid unnecessary changes like the stupid final duel between Harry and Voldy which reads much more cinematic and dramatic in a Sergio Leone style than the hectic action they served us in the movie.

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

9 hours ago, Bilbo said:

Same. It just feels too soon for this. 
 

Since Jo is on board I’d rather a fresh story from her and then maybe experienced TV people to run it and develop it for her. 
 

But the milking of franchises is getting a bit stale now. Can we not get something new?

 

Agree that it's too soon. And it's hard to imagine them nailing the casting any better than they did in the films. On the plus side, it's HBO, and they seem to be doing better than Disney in the quality of their franchise series. If it's done, I certainly hope they'd do something that stayed true to the books.

 

Normally, I'd agree with you on preferring that Saint Jo write something new, but given Fantastic Beasts...I'm not so sure now. What might be interesting, however (maybe)...if they're going to make each book a full season, they're probably going to have to add in some material to flesh out the plot & characters, particularly to the older books, and if that were the case I'd potentially like to see what Rowling would do with that.

[Mr. Who 919]

The best situation would have been if JK write Beasts as novels first which then were made into films. That way there would be no studio interference with the story and pushing for HP tie-ins and increased use of HP locations.

[Holko 9,529]

The best situation would be LLL releasing the rest of the scores in order and everyone calling it a day!

[Edmilson 7,466]

We all knew it was going to happen, sooner or later.

 

Also, giving the recent controversies involving JK, I can see not only her being downplayed from the show but also a major character probably will become trans. I bet in Hermione.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

1 hour ago, Nick1Ø66 said:

What might be interesting, however (maybe)...if they're going to make each book a full season, they're probably going to have to add in some material to flesh out the plot & characters, particularly to the older books, and if that were the case I'd potentially like to see what Rowling would do with that.

 

I reckon if you made 8 one hour episodes you wouldn't have to start making up too much stuff - perhaps get to Hogwarts by the end of episode 1, leaving double the time the movie had for all the rest.

 

The problem the film has for me, narratively is that because everyone's sitting in a cinema for 2 1/2 hours, they need constant propulsion and forwarding of the plot, with no room really for all the little stories with more minor characters which are easier to do when audiences are sitting down an hour at a time and digesting it in bits.

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

17 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

The problem the film has for me, narratively is that because everyone's sitting in a cinema for 2 1/2 hours, they need constant propulsion and forwarding of the plot, with no room really for all the little stories with more minor characters which are easier to do when audiences are sitting down an hour at a time and digesting it in bits.

 

 

Agreed. Though ironically for me, the best films are the latter ones, where the most material has been omitted, as opposed to the first couple, which are arguably the most complete (and faithful) but somewhat dramatically inert.

[Richard Penna 3,694]

Yes, strangely the first is actually extremely close to the book's narrative, but dramatically a bit flat and unexciting, whereas the screenwriters took huge story liberties with the later films, but did make them a bit more exciting.

 

Although the only film I ever really liked was HPB as it felt the most adult of the films without going full armageddon.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

I’m still cautiously excited about this.

 

As for the too soon argument, it will always be too soon. For me, at least. Films 1-4 are classics, so I’ll just regard this series as an alternate take. And I’ll watch it, but only on the condition that the cast remain British and Irish and that we’re not going to have any diversity crap. (Note that I mean British and Irish accent-wise). They’ll probably make things a heck of a lot more exciting than Yates ever could too.

 

If they do go ahead, I also really, really hope they won’t re-use Hedwig’s theme. This should be its own thing from the start.

 

LLL, when is GOF coming?

[Edmilson 7,466]

My dream project for this franchise is a TV series showing events that the books haven't described in detail, particularly the first war against Voldemort.

 

We only know it was a "dark period", but I'd like to see the war in more detail. Voldemort's rise to power, the recruitment of the Death Eaters, his attacks on the Wizarding World (and by that I mean truly the World, not just British wizards), the formation of the Order of the Phoenix, the Horcruxes... It could be a very dark and epic show Clone Wars-style.

 

Also, get rid of people who have been working in this franchise for decades, like Yates, Kloves and yes, even Rowling herself, since she tried to do just that with Fantastic Beasts and the results were an utter disaster. Bring some new people, with fresh ideas for the franchise and how to make it interesting again. They did that with Hogwarts Legacy. The Wizarding franchise deserves its own Dave Filoni.

 

Unfortunately, the success of The Last of Us told HBO that they can just remake stuff people loved before over and over again, so I doubt they'll do that.

[Jay 37,371]

24 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

the success of The Last of Us told HBO that they can just remake stuff people loved before over and over again

 

Huh?

[mstrox 6,651]

Harry Potter is a surefire moneymaker for Warner Bros Discovery, a company which has had significant financial woes over the past few years.  It’s a no-brainer that they’d do something like this.

 

Personally, I’d prefer that the series died quietly along with its author.

[Faleel 5,359]

2 minutes ago, mstrox said:

 

 

Personally, I’d prefer that the series died quietly along with its author.

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Why would you not want Rowling to come up with the ideas? It's her world after all. You only have to make sure she does NOT write the screenplays.

[HunterTech 994]

Because some of those ideas are seriously questionable? Honest to god: given so much of recent events, I'm half-convinced she stopped properly caring about the franchise a while ago, and only really is using it to go into avenues she hadn't prior into her career. A stage play? Sounds neat as hell, so we'll think of a premise that allows us to revisit past events without actually changing the current status quo much. A prequel movie franchise? We'll mash different premises together without any consideration over if they make any real sense being paired up.

It really feels like it's just about the opportunities presented, and nothing more. All for the sake of keeping the franchise afloat, since heaven knows Joanne ain't gonna write another proper novel for it anytime soon. Hell, given the recent news about her publishing company being down 70% in profit, the timing is almost suspicious.

[Edmilson 7,466]

6 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Honest to god: given so much of recent events, I'm half-convinced she stopped properly caring about the franchise a while ago, and only really is using it to go into avenues she hadn't prior into her career.

That sums it up pretty well. After selling millions (billions?) of books, success went up her head so much that she decided to become the next glamorous thing: a Hollywood screenwriter, with full control over the property.

 

Now that that didn't work out all that well, her next move is to become... a showrunner (or executive producer) for an expensive streaming show. 

 

Which is why I think the franchise needs some fresh new perspectives. It worked well enough with Hogwarts Legacy, which AFAIK is a hit.

[HunterTech 994]

Eh, I can't imagine this being much different than her involvement with the movies, since it isn't really at a capacity where she'd be calling all the major shots. And that's probably a good thing, since we really wouldn't want this to turn into The Shining miniseries, where the slavish loyalty is the only commendable thing about it.

As for the actual news itself, so much of this franchise for me are those earlier movies, so I really have a hard time picturing the ways in which it'd have to distinguish itself. I suppose this could be a fun opportunity for someone like Del Toro to finally realize their vision, but I suspect they want this to adhere to a particular template that would make any deviations a no-no.

The main thing I missed in the movies is the full Quidditch subplot from PoA, since Oliver Wood is my favorite side character from the series, and him not getting a proper send off was a disappointment once I read the books. Otherwise, I'd be very curious as how they could possibly approach this whole venture, since I do remember a member here once saying that there just isn't enough actual story to make a full series like this, which is a sentiment I'd like to see be answered if this does go into production.
 

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

Unfortunately, the success of The Last of Us told HBO that they can just remake stuff people loved before over and over again, so I doubt they'll do that.

Isn't the most well received episode one that arguably deviated a slight bit from the games? At the very least, this could be an opportunity to make something of seemingly random areas that the franchise might not have touched on much beforehand.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

There's definitely enough story for a series. It's just that season 1 (corresponding to the first book) might be, say, 6 episodes, followed by a 6 episode season 2, and then like a 10 episode season 3, and 12 episode seasons for the remaining books or something like that. They should just adapt them to whatever season length makes sense for the story, and some seasons will be longer than others.

 

5 minutes ago, HunterTech said:

Isn't the most well received episode one that arguably deviated a slight bit from the games? At the very least, this could be an opportunity to make something of seemingly random areas that the franchise might not have touched on much beforehand.

 

Yeah, there's a lot of good stuff in the books that was ignored in the movies, and other stuff which could be built upon and improved over the paper-thin treatment JK gave in the books. (i.e. fleshing out supporting characters like Cho)

 

Yavar

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

1 hour ago, HunterTech said:

Hell, given the recent news about her publishing company being down 70% in profit, the timing is almost suspicious.

 

It's not her "publishing" company, and this has nothing to do with her books. It's her production company, which handles things like the Strike TV series and the HP stage play. And most of the decline is attributed to COVID.

 

Her books sales (along with Hogwart's Legacy), much to the disappointment of many, apparently weren't impacted by the boycotts against her.

 

In any event, it's not like Jo's short of cash.

[HunterTech 994]

I knew I got something wrong, but I thought it was more than just the number (since it isn't exactly 70%). I figured it'd have nothing to do with this particular news, yet the timing is funny nevertheless.
 

4 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

There's definitely enough story for a series. It's just that season 1 (corresponding to the first book) might be, say, 6 episodes, followed by a 6 episode season 2, and then like a 10 episode season 3, and 12 episode seasons for the remaining books or something like that. They should just adapt them to whatever season length makes sense for the story, and some seasons will be longer than others.

Ah right, I do think that comment was made before series could have flexible episode counts like they do now. Especially now with the recent news about HotD's next seasons.

[mstrox 6,651]

1 hour ago, A Farewell to Kings said:

 

It was a very considered choice of words!

[Manakin Skywalker 4,897]

[Jurassic Shark 12,080]

They could get Daniel Radcliffe to play Harry Potter. 

 

15 hours ago, Mr. Who said:

I’m a huge fan of the books and movies but I think this is way too soon, the last film was released 12 years ago. Recasting all the characters will be so strange, especially for the older characters.

 

Relax, I'm sure it will take at least a year before it's streaming. 

[JTN 2,036]

Good luck trying to top John Williams’ Harry Potter themes and scores.

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

6 minutes ago, JTW said:

Good luck trying to top John Williams’ Harry Potter themes and scores.

Indeed. 

 

Go the House of the Dragon route and simply accept the inevitable truth…you’re never going to find a better theme, so why try?

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

They should get some boring BBC guy to score this so I can ignore it completely like all the Potter shit post-2011

[Edmilson 7,466]

It will probably be some RC guy anyway

[Holko 9,529]

I wonder if they'll include the "slavery is good actually" subplot

[A24 4,345]

My kid is too old for Harry Potter now.

[Edmilson 7,466]

6 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

They could get Daniel Radcliffe to play Professor Lupin

Fixed.

 

Actually...

 

6 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

They could get Daniel Radcliffe to play Voldemort 

More fixed!

 

Or maybe...

 

6 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said:

They could get Daniel Radcliffe to play Snape

Fixed again and it's even better now.

[HunterTech 994]

Given the trajectory of his career, I think Professor Flitwick would be more fitting for Radcliffe

[GerateWohl 4,371]

2 hours ago, JTW said:

Good luck trying to top John Williams’ Harry Potter themes and scores.

The score won't matter.

Why?

Because scores don't matter anymore.

 

And anyway, if I was responsible for this show I would anyway aim to find a very different visual and musical language for the show than the movies. Less fairytale glamour, less larger than life, less star power, but more set into the real world at least for the start.

 

And I hope this time Ron will be as funny as in the books.

 

[JTN 2,036]

I think the score will matter, but I agree that the series will and should have to go on a different route than the films and their scores. 

 

On the other hand it will still be about magic and wizards and witchcraft, so there isn't too much room for doing something completely different, and I believe that John Williams' main themes are so deeply embedded in the fabric of the collective consciousness of generations of fans, that it'll be hard to deviate from that.

I think the producers simply won't be able to not ask the new composer to reference the Williams-themes.

Maybe I'm wrong, just look at what Bear McCreary did with Rings of Power. Maybe a completely different way of storytelling doesn't need anything "childishly magical" as "Hedwig's Theme" or "Harry's Wondrous World". 

 

Anyway, I'm sure the show will have a very good composer who will be able to do their own thing and possibly give the "old" fans some of the John Williams Harry Potter-magic. 

 

If it was up to me, I would choose James Newton Howard. He already demonstrated what he can do with the Potter universe and he is capable of creating something unique and original. 

[Bilbo 3,709]

15 hours ago, Edmilson said:

Also, giving the recent controversies involving JK, I can see not only her being downplayed from the show but also a major character probably will become trans. I bet in Hermione.

That won’t happen and she’ll definitely be an EP on the show. This won’t happen without her involvement and I’m pretty sure it can’t. 

[GerateWohl 4,371]

I would expect something like True Blood, but for kids and with wizards instead of vampires.

And a score rather based on pop songs than on orchestral score.

 

[Bilbo 3,709]

56 minutes ago, JTW said:

I think the score will matter, but I agree that the series will and should have to go on a different route than the films and their scores. 

 

On the other hand it will still be about magic and wizards and witchcraft, so there isn't too much room for doing something completely different, and I believe that John Williams' main themes are so deeply embedded in the fabric of the collective consciousness of generations of fans, that it'll be hard to deviate from that.

I think the producers simply won't be able to not ask the new composer to reference the Williams-themes.

Maybe I'm wrong, just look at what Bear McCreary did with Rings of Power. Maybe a completely different way of storytelling doesn't need anything "childishly magical" as "Hedwig's Theme" or "Harry's Wondrous World". 

 

Anyway, I'm sure the show will have a very good composer who will be able to do their own thing and possibly give the "old" fans some of the John Williams Harry Potter-magic. 

 

If it was up to me, I would choose James Newton Howard. He already demonstrated what he can do with the Potter universe and he is capable of creating something unique and original. 

I just worry they’ll give it to someone like Balfe. That would be worst case scenario score wise and entirely possible. 

[GerateWohl 4,371]

1 hour ago, JTW said:

If it was up to me, I would choose James Newton Howard. He already demonstrated what he can do with the Potter universe and he is capable of creating something unique and original. 

I would prefer David Arnold.

If he did to Williams' Potter scores what he did to Barry's Bond scores, I would be more than happy.

[JTN 2,036]

David Arnold would be an excellent choice. 

[bollemanneke 3,349]

Would it be too much to hope that they'll find one composer for this, and only one?

[Edmilson 7,466]

Has anyone thought about the fact that Harry Potter is seen as a story for kids and HBO usually produces some of the darkest, grimmest and most adult shows out there? Will this be their first show kids under 16 can watch without being traumatized (or bored)?

[Bilbo 3,709]

 

1 minute ago, Edmilson said:

Has anyone thought about the fact that Harry Potter is seen as a story for kids and HBO usually produces some of the darkest, grimmest and most adult shows out there? Will this be their first show kids under 16 can watch without being traumatized (or bored)?

Isn’t it HBO Max produced rather than regular HBO?

This article is better than the one in the OP and it addresses a few misconceptions people have 

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-03/warner-bros-nears-deal-for-a-new-harry-potter-television-series

[mstrox 6,651]

18 minutes ago, Edmilson said:

Has anyone thought about the fact that Harry Potter is seen as a story for kids and HBO usually produces some of the darkest, grimmest and most adult shows out there? Will this be their first show kids under 16 can watch without being traumatized (or bored)?

HBO was the home of Fraggle Rock and currently the first-run home of Sesame Street!  They’ve had a smattering of kids and teen shows over the years, although obviously family entertainment is not their bread and butter.

[Toillion 215]

Aren't all the Harry Potter theme parks and merchandise heavily based on the movies rather than the books? It seems crazy to me that with how much is invested in the way the movies look and feel that they would reboot it. Unless all the sets and characters are very similar to the films, the show will feel disconnected to what they already have established. 

 

I can see why this would be appealing to those that really love the books but hate the movies. But from pretty much everyone I've ever heard from, people either like or love the movies even though most admit that the books are at least slightly better.  This whole thing gives me Rings of Power vibes. Although, I have a lot more faith in HBO to create good shows than I do with Amazon. 

[Goldfinger 59]

Murray Gold could probably knock this show out of the park if given the chance to compose.

[Nick1Ø66 4,718]

1 hour ago, Bilbo said:

Isn’t it HBO Max produced rather than regular HBO?

This article is better than the one in the OP and it addresses a few misconceptions people have 

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-03/warner-bros-nears-deal-for-a-new-harry-potter-television-series

 

Better article Bilbo and I've updated the link accordingly.  I'll be very interested to see how involved Jo is in this.

 

 

 

 

[HunterTech 994]

7 hours ago, Bilbo said:

That won’t happen and she’ll definitely be an EP on the show. This won’t happen without her involvement and I’m pretty sure it can’t. 

 

That exact thing won't happen, but black Hermione from Cursed Child does still open the possibilities that they can change how they depict some of the cast (unless it was only allowed there because stage productions are loose with castings to begin with).