Harry Potter: a reboot for the cult saga?

The rumor of a reboot of the Harry Potter saga is getting more insistent, while Warner Bros is cleaning up its licenses.

Harry Potter is one of the most profitable licenses for Warner Bros. With eight films to its credit, and several parks around the world, the saga carried by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson is a juggernaut that the studios cannot do without. Shortly after the conclusion of the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione in the cinema, Warner Bros had also decided to explore new magical horizons with Fantastic Beasts.

Three opuses will be produced under the Wizarding World banner, the last one was released last April at the cinema. It did not meet with the expected success. On Rotten Tomatoes, The Secrets of Dumbledore garners only 46% positive reviews from the press against 83% from the public. At the international box office, it only made $405.2 million. This is half as much as for the first part of the adventures of Norbert Dragonneau which peaked at 812.5 million.

The fourth chapter of the fight against Grindelwald could never see the light of day. However, David Zaslav recently recalled his desire to continue to work on the exploration of the universe imagined by J.K. Rowling. Last November, during the presentation of the financial results of Warner Bros, the CEO of the company confided: “I would like to see if we can do something with J.K. Rowling concerning Harry Potter.” However, he did not specify what type of project was under consideration.

New players?

The rumor of an entire reboot of the saga resurfaced. According to the WDW Pro Twitter account, “Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to reboot the Harry Potter film franchise, with a new cast, within the next three to five years.” This is obviously a rumour. It should therefore be taken with a grain of salt.

Nothing has been confirmed by Warner Bros. Rebooting the saga is a big risk that Warner Bros might not want to take. This is all the more true since the adventures of the little bespectacled wizard are still very dear to the hearts of many fans around the world. The latter might not see this reboot in a good light.

Warner Bros would nevertheless have every interest in continuing their adventures or exploring new horizons. The possibilities are many. An adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a film about the youth of the one whose name or birth of the Marauders should not be pronounced, the narrative tracks are not lacking. Still, the risk of disappointing is great.

For now, Warner Bros. Discovery’s priority seems to be a complete overhaul of the DCEU. The appointment of Peter Safran and James Gunn at the head of the franchise has already had consequences for the program for the next few years. Henry Cavill was ousted weeks after announcing his return as Superman.