The Harry Potter movies are classics in their own right, and are beloved by fans for bringing the Wizarding World from J.K. Rowling’s novels to life. But despite how iconic they are, the films have certainly aged over the years — and they left out and altered quite a bit of Rowling’s original story even before that. For those reasons, whispers of reboots have been making their rounds, with the most recent rumors suggesting a television series could be in the works. (These were, sadly, debunked by Warner Bros. Studio shortly afterward.)
But even with all the talk surrounding a potential reboot, a poll conducted by ComingSoon.net suggests that fans aren’t really behind such a thing. Of approximately 2,000 polled, a whopping 72 percent responded to the possibility of a remake of the original series with “No, it’s perfect!” Only 28 percent of fans agreed that the franchise should eventually be rebooted.
Additionally, the site delved further into what a remake could look like, asking voters what sort of content they’d like to see if the Wizarding World were to expand further. Only 11 percent of voters wanted a remake of the original films, while the majority (41 percent) said they’d like to see a sequel featuring Harry’s kids — much like what Harry Potter and the Cursed Child strives to do. Meanwhile, 35 percent claimed they’d like to see “a TV series set in the Wizarding World,” which we suppose could mean just about anything, and 13 percent were interested in a new spinoff movie separate from the Fantastic Beasts franchise.
All in all, it doesn’t seem like Harry Potter fans see much need for new Wizarding World content to begin with. But they certainly aren’t interested in rebooting the originals, at least based on this sample.
Why that’s the case is up for debate. A reboot would offer better action scenes with updated special effects — plus, a longer-form adaptation would allow for a telling that’s truer to the books. Still, it’s understandable that fans can’t imagine a Harry Potter without Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson front and center. Those movies have wiggled their way into even the most cynical fans’ hearts, and recreating that kind of magic is always risky.
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Whether the demand is there or not, though, we could eventually see a reimagining of the Harry Potter books. We do, after all, live in an age of reboots and spinoffs — and if Hollywood sees an opportunity to bring Harry’s story back to the screen, they’ll probably take it, regardless of fans’ opinions. (And you know we’ll all be tuning in to watch it, regardless of our feelings about its necessity.)
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