Though the magic of the original Harry Potter franchise has all but fizzled out since the release of the eighth and final movie featuring the titular boy wizard and his loyal friends, it may be only a short spell until we see a reboot—according to an anonymous source.The rumor began circulating earlier this month, when anonymous author and established info-leaker WDW Pro tweeted that the fantasy franchise was allegedly up for a reboot—recasts and all.
"Exclusive Leak: WBD is reportedly looking to reboot the Harry Potter film franchise, including recasting, in the next 3-5 years."
WDW Pro appeared alongside entertainment YouTuber Valliant Renegade the next day to explain in more detail, and while he stressed that this is all still speculation at this point, the concept is allegedly being "fervently discussed" at Warner Bros. Discovery.
"It now seems extremely likely that the Harry Potter universe, which I think internally is called The Wizarding Division, is receiving a reboot in the future in terms of the movies. And that may also include recasting some of the roles that have become iconic inside the Harry Potter universe with the major actors and characters...We're not talking about Fantastic Beasts. We're not talking about some of these ancillary Harry Potter things," he shared. "We're talking about what is referred to inside the industry as 'core Harry Potter.'"
Source Claims WBD Wants to Bring Harry Potter Franchise Back From the Dead
Since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two in 2011, there have been a few attempts to cast the inferius spell and revive the franchise from the dead—including several Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them prequels.
But none of the attempts have come close to capturing the magic of the original series, which rocketed the on-screen Golden Trio (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint) into fame.
With its fan base aging out and the once-evergreen franchise growing dormant, this anonymous source claims that WBD is well-aware of the need for a proper Harry Potter reboot.
"...I mean it's a dormant franchise, and that's particularly why we are being told that in the next three to five years they are looking to reboot this thing...Because they have not been able to get the other stuff, these sort of secondary things off the ground and gain that momentum they had with the originals, the thinking that they have is that it's time for Hollywood to get over this fear of casting, so they're ready to do that," WDW Pro relayed.
What Can We Expect From the Reboot?
While recasting is definitely a part of the (alleged) reboot talks, exploring other characters' stories within the original Harry Potter canon isn't necessarily off the table—but the source says it's too soon to even start thinking about that.
"The way that they reboot this franchise does not have to be your standard fare reboot, where we go back to the origin of the character we've already had an adventure with. There are many different ways they could do that and we're not here to tell you that we know what [it] is yet."
And, according to our anonymous friend, it could be awhile before we have any answers at all. Rumor has it that WBD is looking to pull a DC Studios move and find their own James Gunn before moving forward.
"They're not even close, I would think, to being at that point. In fact, according to the source, they don't have sort of the James Gunn individual yet in charge of this. That's part of what they're aiming for."
Check out the whole interview below: