Few franchises have the cult-like devotion of Harry Potter. One only has to watch the video of hordes of adults counting down the arrival of the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross, and their fury when it didn’t arrive, to understand the religious fervour people feel for the wizarding world. Yet one announcement did come last which, one that will send shivers down the spine of every magic-loving millennial super-fan. HBO has launched a casting call for its new Harry Potter series.
Even the teaser trailer makes it clear the creative chokehold the series is in
I am sure this is exciting news for some: mainly pushy parents who are already prepping their little darlings on how to pronounce ‘wingardium leviosa’, ready for the ultimate vicarious thespian high. Yet for many, there is the ominous sense that the series is doomed to fail. HBO’s decision to remake beloved movies is a misguided one. Risk-averse studios might assume that familiarity breeds anything but contempt, but they underestimate our penchant for romanticising the past, and the difficulty of reintroducing Harry Potter to a new audience when the old one is still very much present.
Even the teaser trailer makes it clear the creative chokehold the series is in. The announcement clip is made up entirely of reused aspects from the films: the same title logo, the same music, the same Hogwarts backdrop, the same, well, everything. This might be an attempt to appeal to audiences who are steadfastly loyal to their own nostalgia, but it also shows how difficult it will be for the new series to differentiate itself in any meaningful way. The original films’ aesthetic is already so deeply embedded into the Harry Potter merchandising machine and fans are already so familiar with the minute details (even the pentagonal box of a chocolate frog) that they have become sacrosanct. If the project just ends up being a retelling of a story that was only told a few short years ago, then I struggle to see how it will appeal to either long-term fans or newcomers.
If the show does try to innovate, will it be motivated by creative changes or cultural ones? Cynically, I wonder if the series will be too preoccupied with trying to repackage or rehabilitate Rowling’s reputation away from the toxicity of the trans debate, or trying to make the parts of the franchise that have perhaps not aged so well (for example, the anti-Semitic connotations of the Gringotts’ goblins) more palatable. The casting call for the young actors seems to suggest that the producers are keen to emphasise ‘diversity and inclusion’: it explicitly states that they will consider, for every role, ‘qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated’.
Given the dire financial straits Warner Bros Discovery (its stock has lost a third of its value over the last year), it would be easy to sneer the phrase often uttered about progressive business: ‘go woke, go broke’. We may get a black Hermione Granger, a disabled Luna Lovegood, an LGBTQ+ Draco Malfoy, a non-binary Dumbledore – or we may not. What this does do, however, is place the series right in the middle of the culture wars.
Whoever they choose, these kids will have to deal with accusations that they aren’t as good as their predecessors, that they are either too ‘woke’ or not ‘woke’ enough, that they weren’t chosen by merit but to fulfil some quota. It’s a lose-lose situation: overlook diversity, and you are criticised from the left; over-emphasise diversity, and you are criticised from the right; do it selectively, and you are criticised by everyone for being tokenistic. Take The Rings of Power or House of the Dragon: both were building on an established series rather than making their own, but both were still dominated by discussions around their diverse casting above other aspects of their production.
These series concerned adult actors rather than child ones, though. The new child actors at the heart of this new Harry Potter show will be under unthinkable pressure and scrutiny, vulnerable to abuse and harassment and unparalleled levels of criticism. It’s amazing that the original acting trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have managed to avoid the perils of childhood stardom and remained well-adjusted role models, but the brave new world of social media will make this even less likely for the new trio. The series is a huge risk, and one which is unlikely to leave anybody happy.
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