Opinion
Is it too soon for a Harry Potter remake?
by Luca Fontana
Official: The first "Harry Potter" series is coming!
13/4/2023
Translation: machine translated
After weeks of negotiations between the film studio, streaming service and rights holder, it is now official: "Harry Potter" will be produced as a series with a completely new cast.
This has been rumoured for weeks. Most recently, industry insiders spoke of an imminent deal. Now it's official: Warner Bros. announces the first "Harry Potter" series for the newly founded streaming platform "Max".
New cast and one season per book
In the press release linked above, the film studio reveals very little information that has not already been leaked in recent weeks. Each of the seven seasons will follow the events of one of the seven books. Accordingly, Warner Bros. is talking about a "decades-long project" with a completely new cast centred around Harry, Ron and Hermione.
It is now also clear that Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling will be involved in the creation of the series. "Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I look forward to being involved in this new adaptation," said the author, who now has a difficult time with some fans due to her often controversial tweets and statements.
In the USA, the series will run on the streaming service Max, which will result from the simultaneously announced merger of the former Warner Bros. services HBO Max and Discovery. The press release also mentions a global release strategy. In this country, the series - like previous former HBO releases - is likely to be distributed via Sky. However, nothing is official yet.
When will the "Harry Potter" series be released?
It is still unknown when the series will be released. From experience, however, fans will have to be patient. Firstly, important positions such as showrunners, authors and producers still need to be filled. This will be followed by the official casting. Only then will filming, reshoots and post-production continue, during which special effects, sound and music will be added. The entire process is expected to take a good two years. The first season is therefore not expected to stream on our televisions until 2025 at the earliest.
Too soon? Does the world even need a remake? Or are the new possibilities perhaps worth it? You can find my opinion here:
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»