Harry Potter TV reboot in development for HBO Max

Yesterday was a weird ol’ day for film and television news. Is it strange that I’m actually kind of looking forward to the live-action Moana with Dwayne Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho reprising their roles? I mean, yes, they could have just made a sequel but still, I’m looking forward to it. Just me? Okay.

The other news to rock the internet was the fact that a Harry Potter reboot is reportedly in development over at HBO Max. We all know that Hogwarts Legacy has been a major commercial hit in the last couple of weeks. In fact, it sold 12 million copies in the first two weeks of release alone, with analysts guessing its revenue may now have exceeded $1 billion. It’s less surprising then that it was originally rumoured that a Hogwarts Legacy TV show was in development. Now, it appears as if it could actually be the original films getting the remake treatment. This I find to be bizarre.

Take a look at Hogwarts Legacy in action below.

As reported by IGN, a source has said that Warner Bros and HBO Max are looking at creating a brand new TV adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books. Bloomberg claims that the series is “near a deal” with each season set to cover one book. IGN’s source conversely revealed that discussions remain early and ongoing. The series would supposedly be an HBO Max property, rather than a HBO original.

Where do we even begin to process this? In today’s remake/reboot culture, it certainly feels like nothing is off limits but to reimagine what is already perhaps the most popular and successful film franchise and book adaptation of all time? That’s a bold move. I find it hard to imagine anyone would be interested in seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione brought to life by anyone other than Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint - even diehard fans.

If the series did dedicate one season to each book, we’d obviously get a much more expansive adaptation. Is that enough to draw people in though? That awaits to be seen.