Harry Potter TV Series Producer Promises Show Will Explore “The Books More Deeply”
John F. Trent
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The producer for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series on Max recently promised it will explore “the books more deeply.”
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2010), Warner Bros. Pictures
RELATED: Harry Potter TV Series Announced That Will Adapt J.K. Rowling’s Original Books
A new Harry Potter TV series was announced back in April with Warner Bros. Discovery stating in a press release, “The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer, J.K. Rowling.”
They added, “The stories from each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for.”
Your Hogwarts letter is here.
Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation of the iconic books. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/3CgEHLYhch
— Max (@StreamOnMax) April 12, 2023
The press release also noted the show “will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years.”
Finally, it revealed that it appears each book will be adapted into a single season. The press release said, “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world.”
Emma Watson in Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts via HBO Max, YouTube
Rowling commented on the new adaptation saying, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
CEO and Chairman of HBO and Max Casey Bloys also said, “We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way.”
He added, “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”
Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Warner Bros. Pictures
Producer David Heyman doubled down on this rhetoric telling Total Film, “[On Harry Potter] it’s early days. We haven’t even hired a writer to begin writing. It’s a bit early.”
However, he then promised, “But hopefully [it will be] something that’s very special, and gives us an opportunity to see the books, and to enjoy a series which explores the books more deeply.”
Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) performs the Killing Curse Avada Kedavra to kill Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) via Warner Bros. Pictures
Despite this rhetoric and these promises a rumor from scooper and reporter Jeff Sneider claims that Warner Bros. Discovery will be making “a concerted effort to cast more people of color.”
Before he got to this rumor, Sneider explained that Warner Bros. Discovery originally attempted to make an adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a stage play that follows Harry Potter as he is now the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and his son Albus Severus Potter, who is about to attend his first year at Hogwarts.
Sneider stated, “I had heard there had been talk of a Cursed Child movie with the original cast. But there were problems. They didn’t want to work with J.K. Rowling for obvious reasons. And that it was particularly hard to get Emma [Watson] and Dan [Radcliffe] back. Particularly, Emma. Emma is the toughest one to get back into this, particularly with everything that J.K. Rowling has said and stands for.”
He continued, “I’d heard was that they tried to buy J.K. Rowling out. She requested an insane amount. So they just figured, alright, well if we want to go forward with these characters, which we do, then we’re stuck with her. So it’s gonna be her. She’s not going anywhere all due respect to Emma Watson or whatever, and then we’ll reboot it because that is what J.K. Rowling is willing to agree to.”
Author J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the Easter Egg Roll at White House. Screenshot taken from official White House video. Photo Credit: Executive Office of the President, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sneider went on to reveal that there were pitches to set the series in America or Paris, but Rowling shut both of them down because Harry Potter is a British property and she wants it to stay true to its roots.
He then revealed, “What I’ve heard about this series is that they will make a concerted effort to cast more people of color in the show particularly with regards to the role of Hermoine. It very well may be an actress of color and you could also expect some veteran Potter writers to be involved with this show in some capacity.”
Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hermione Granger was race replaced in the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with actress Noma Dumezweni playing the character.
Rowling responded to backlash about the race replacement telling The Guardian, “With my experience of social media, I thought that idiots were going to idiot. But what can you say? That’s the way the world is. Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job. When John told me he’d cast her, I said, ‘Oh, that’s fabulous’ because I’d seen her in a workshop and she was fabulous.”
Noma Dumezweni speaks about her experience portraying Hermoine in the stage production of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’
It wouldn’t be a surprise if Max did indeed make changes to the characters despite promising it will be a faithful adaptation and that it will explore the books more deeply.
This type of action was lauded in Thought Catalog by Emily Goldstein back in 2015 where she wrote, “Diversity IS about getting rid of white people, and that’s a good thing.”
She went on to declare, “White people do not have a right to exist. Period. That may sound like a bold statement, but it’s entirely true. Any white person with even the faintest knowledge of history should curse themselves every single day for being white. Throughout all of recorded history, whites have engaged in oppression, genocide, colonialism, imperialism, and just plain evil on a massive scale. White people have denied every other race the right to exist, and have – at some point in history – oppressed every single race on the planet.”
She later concluded, “Diversity is indeed white genocide. And white genocide is exactly what the world needs more than anything else.”
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2010), Warner Bros. Pictures
What do you make of Heyman’s promise?
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