Did We Really Need This?

The new trailer for the Harry PotterFirst released as a series of books (starting in the UK before moving worldwide), the Harry Potter series gained great acclaim before even becoming a series of successful movies. Now encompassing books, films, a prequel series, and a successful two-part play, the series even now shows no end in sight. television series just released and while I recognize that I don’t generally discuss trailers in article form (it works better as a podcast, in my opinion, instead of wasting a chunk of article space on something that’s two minutes and slight), I did feel like this one was worth addressing for a few reasons. Not because I want to watch this series, which… ugh, I don’t. More because we have to have a longer discussion, both about what HBO is doing and how it’s feeding into the culture wars in ways they must have expected and yet still failed to account for anyway.

The trailer itself is… fine. It’s the first book, all over again, just expanded. People that know the books better than I do (which has got to be everyone as I read them once, said, “that was fine,” and then moved on with my life) have stated that the trailer shows off a lot of scenes of material that was cut from the books to make the movies. In that regard, cool, it’s doing its stated goal of being an expanded retelling of the books. That was to be expected as the television series is going to be something like eight episodes, nearly an hour an episode, and the original film (from all the way back in 2001) was only two hours long. That’s a lot of expansion space you have to fill with something. And while I’d find it amusing if the first six episodes were just Harry living under his stairs, something tells me the producers of the series weren’t going to go that route.

The issue I have with the trailer itself (and just the trailer itself, as we’ll address everything beyond that in a moment) is that it doesn’t really seem to push the franchise forward in any real way. Oh, sure, there’s a diversity in the casting that wasn’t there before, with Snape and Hermoine played by people of color, but as far as the actual visuals are concerned – the costuming, the set design, the cinematography – this feels like a pale imitation of the original films. Hell, even the casting feels like it was done to try and get actors (outside of Hermoine and Snape) who looked and acted as much as the original cast as was possible.

That alone makes me wonder why we really needed this. Harry Potter is a massive brand and it’s clear that Warner Bros. wasn’t going to let the franchise lay fallow for long. The failure of the Fantastic Beasts series meant that their hopes for franchise expansion were dead and outside of maybe convincing Rowling to let them adapt the stage play (and functional eighth entry in the main series) into a movie, there wasn’t much left for the franchise to do other than readapt the original books. That was all people really seemed to care about, I assume the suits reasoned.

And, sure, it’s been nearly twenty-five years since the first film came out. That seems like plenty of time to wait before doing a new version (at least in comparison to Disney who are already remaking Moana even though the first film was released less than ten years ago and a successful sequel to that movie was just in theaters not that long ago, making it a very much alive franchise). It just bothers me that it doesn’t feel like the producers on the show wanted to do anything artistically different or interesting with the series. It looks like a return to the Hogwarts all the fans remembered, but when you have the film series right there, giving you the exact same story with the exact same visuals, what’s really the point? The studio will presumably make money, but this feels like an artistically bankrupt production, through and through.

Of course the other person making money on this is J.K. Rowling herself, and that’s an even bigger can of worms to wade into. The author came out as a transphobe years ago and time has not softened her stance. She’s gotten worse and worse over the years, to the point that many fans that used to love her works can’t go near anything she does. She’s toxic, and grows only more toxic as the years go by. The thought, for many, of actively feeding her bank account by watching a new version of her stories feels really wrong.

I can’t blame people for keeping her books if they already had them. Her books are a part of many people’s childhoods and that money was already spent before J.K came out as a TERF. And if you can find the books (and the movies) used, with no money going back to that heinous author, then more power to you. Keeping a piece of your childhood with you is understandable. We all do it. But that’s a lot different from actively spending money (on an HBO MaxThe oldest and longer-running cable subscription service, HBO provides entertainment in the force of licensed movies along with a huge slate of original programming, giving it the luster of the premiere cable service. Now known primarily for its streaming service, HBO Max (formerly Max, HBO Max, HBO Go, HBO Now, et al). subscription) to watch a new version of the stories. For some (maybe for many) that feels like a bridge too far.

Warners had to know it. I’m sure they looked at the movie sales and theme park sales and say, “hey, there’s still a sizable contingent that loves these works and will continue to spend money on it,” and while that might be true, we don’t need to actively side with a shitty person and fund her shitty views. When someone proves themselves to be a toxic individual (as J.K. has, repeatedly, and at length) we’re all supposed to agree to not discuss them anymore or give them money. Warners decided, “naw, toxic people are fine,” and that seems even worse.

But then some of those people that have already stated they’re willing to keep spending money on Harry Potter crap are just as deep into the culture war as J.K. herself. They’re the ones attacking Hermoine’s new actress and Snape’s new actor for being people of color. For them, anyone that isn’t white and straight shouldn’t be anywhere near their precious media, and they’ll actively be toxic to the stars that don’t match their own image. Can’t help but think that Rowling has only enabled them to act this shitty since she, herself, is just as shitty as they are.

All of this is to say that the new Harry Potter series lands at a time when fans are going to be divided already. It provides comfort in the form of the exact thing some fans remember, and nothing more. And all of this is so corporate suits can line their pockets and a terrible human being can make a few million more and then spout even more toxic crap online alongside her equally toxic online yes-men. It’s pretty gross and I really wish we didn’t have to discuss this at all.

The best hope is that the one season of Harry Potter does terribly when it releases during the holiday season and the show is cancelled, letting us all go back to a world where we don’t have to think about giving more money to the toxic author. Sadly, I’m assuming it’ll be a smash hit and Rowling will be in the news for years to come. Damn it.