The Harry Potter TV Reboot

By Remy Zerber
​Culture Writer

HBO Max just announced that they are rebooting the Harry Potter franchise and making a TV show. This announcement was made on April 12 with a video posted on their Youtube channel. HBO also announced that they are doing a rebrand and calling themselves Max. People have many opinions on the show, especially on the casting of it.


Although the characters have not been casted yet because Max just announced the reboot, people already have opinions on the casting and idea of a reboot. People don’t think anyone can replace the original actors who played Harry, Ron and Hermione (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) in the original movies. Although I love the original three actors, I think they should focus on making the new cast as book accurate as possible. That way the reboot won’t be compared to the original eight movies. The original actors aren’t getting any younger so they can’t come back and play kids again. I would love for them to play other roles like the parents of their original characters. Having the old Harry Potter actors come back would increase the likelihood of old Harry Potter fans watching because it would increase the nostalgia for them. Tom Felton, the actor who played Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, said he would love to come back in the reboot and I think he should play Lucius Malfoy. He is much closer in age to Lucius Malfoy now and if he were cast as the father of his original character, he would be a series regular which would be really nostalgic for Harry Potter fans. I think Ralph Fiennes should play Voldemort again. He has said he would be disappointed if he didn’t get asked to come back, especially since his performance in the original movies was really good. Harry Potter fans would be excited to see him come back, especially after seeing his performance in the original movies. People clearly care a lot about the casting of the reboot because they want it to be perfect.


Many people have strong opinions on the reboot, especially the trans community as J.K. Rowling is involved. The trans community started a war on Twitter where they attacked the controversial author. Alex Paez on Twitter wrote, “I am a Mexican and I do not support transphobic trash like J. K. Rowling.” The trans community is trying to organize a boycott of the new Harry Potter show, and in response  J. K. Rowling tweeted that she doesn’t care what they think. Rowling tweeted, “Dreadful news, which I feel duty bound to share. Activists in my mentions are trying to organize yet another boycott of my work, this time of the Harry Potter TV show. As forewarned is forearmed, I've taken the precaution of laying in a large stock of champagne.” 

Many people, especially the trans community, are angry about the Harry Potter reboot because JK Rowling is going to be involved. They are mad at her because she has said some transphobic things in the past. Some people want to boycott the show but she doesn’t care. Max and JK Rowling are still going to make the show even though there is controversy.