It’s only a matter of time before the Harry Potter series gets a TV reboot. Let’s get out ahead of things and dreamcast it!
We’ve heard a lot of rumors lately about a TV remake of the original Harry Potter story, perhaps on HBO Max. Right now, the Fantastic Beasts movies are the only official new Wizarding World stories fans are getting, but you have to think it’s only a matter of time before the execs at Warner Bros. go back to the source. It’s hard to see how they would pass up the opportunity to cash in one of the most popular children’s series in history, especially as more time passes between now and the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 in 2011.
So what would a TV version of J.K. Rowling’s original books look like? Just about every fantasy story is being made into a long-form TV show nowadays, and we can see how a 10-episode season of television would do one of the Potter books justice, even if you firmly believe the movies are perfect exactly as they are.
Given the ages of the original actors and actresses from the movies — along with recent comments that suggest they won’t be revisiting Rowling’s world any time soon — any new version of the story would need to come with a brand new cast. And although it’s hard picturing anyone other than Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson at the helm of Harry’s story, there are a few actors and actresses who would bring some magic to a reboot.
Let’s start with the Boy Who Lived himself:
Noah Schnapp as Harry Potter
Look, maybe we’re just Stranger Things obsessed, but Noah Schnapp knows how to deliver a performance. He can cover the full range of emotions, which he’ll need to do if he ever plays Harry Potter. After all, Harry goes through all kinds of trauma from the first book to the seventh — and we have confidence Schnapp would capture that expertly.
Whoever is playing Harry will need to be able to portray him as both the quiet boy who lives under the stairs as well as the brave and often outspoken teenager he becomes as the series progresses. We’d say Schnapp is more than capable of hitting both those notes. As Will on Stranger Things, he’s mostly soft-spoken and polite, but he was some emotional outbursts that recall the angsty teenage Harry of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
As far as looks go, Schnapp isn’t exactly Harry, but give him a pair of glasses and a lightning-shaped scar and we think he’d manage just fine. (Also, let’s get him contacts to ensure his eyes actually match his mother’s this time around.)
When it comes to up-and-coming young stars, Schnapp is one of the big names to look out for, and he’d be perfect for the lead role in a Harry Potter television series or film reboot. Replacing Daniel Radcliffe will be no easy feat, but if anyone can manage it, it’s Schnapp.