Perhaps theHarry Potterfranchise should be referred to as “The Series That Lived…against all odds”. Every time that it seems likeHarry Potterand its adjacent properties are a thing of the past, they come out with something new that gets fans in a frenzy again. And it makes sense - with such an expansive magical world to pull stories from, there are so many directions one could possibly go if they wanted to tell a story in the wizarding world.
One of these stories is theFantastic Beastsseries, which has two movies already released and three more on the way (allegedly). Despite the fact that the second installment, theCrimes of Grindelwald, was nearly universally hated, Warner Bros decided to soldier on and continue producingFantastic Beastsmovies, though the title seems to be more of a misnomer with every movie as the plot strays further and further away from being about magical creatures.
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With the recent trailer release for the third movie,The Secrets of Dumbledore, it seems that there is an attempt to reawaken the Potterheads. This, combined with the upcomingHarry Potter20th anniversary reunion special on HBO Max, seems to point to some sort ofHarry Potterrevival. However, nostalgia is one thing, but attempts to recreate the magic of the original story are quite another. Will it finally be time to put theHarry Potterfranchise out to pasture after the release ofThe Secrets of Dumbledore, or will they just keep on beating a dead hippogriff?
Most franchises continue on for years past their original inception, but theHarry Potterfandom has been particularly resilient. Few other franchises have been as wide-reaching in their popularity and appealed so much to multiple generations. TheHarry Potterfan world extendsfrom books to moviesto stage plays to video games to theme parks, and every online community in between. Even with virtually no new content to speak of for a while, the fandom never truly died out, and was always ready and waiting for when a new story dropped, like aFantastic Beastsmovie or a new mobile app.
Despite this endurance, the events of the past few years have also caused a lot of die-hard fans to fall out of love with the series. This, of course, is mostly due to J.K. Rowling and her inability to tweet anything that’s not controversial. Rowling has faced a lot of backlash for her transphobic views that she often voices online, and it has led to a lot of formerHarry Potterfansre-examining Rowling’s work with a different lens. It turns out, for example, that theHarry Potterseries isn’t quite as feminist as many first perceived; in fact, there is a lot of shaming of female characters who act stereotypically feminine, and a very present “I’m not like other girls” rhetoric from the female characters that the reader is supposed to root for.
With all of this, it just seems like the overall enthusiasm forHarry Potterthat was really present in recent years is starting to die down, and it might be time for the franchise to quit while it’s still somewhat ahead. If they just keep releasing movies that nobody really wants, it’s just going to further sour the image of the wizarding world in a lot of people’s minds. After the failure ofThe Crimes of Grindelwald, it seems like such a strange move to keep trying to milk this story that a majority of the fandom doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about. In fact, a lot of people had forgotten that this series was supposed to be releasing more movies, and were only reminded of that factafter the trailer forThe Secrets of Dumbledoredropped.
The firstFantastic Beastsmovie had a lot of promise. It followed a central cast of quirky and interesting characters and developed their relationships with each other in a sympathetic way. Being introduced to new magical creatures was fun, and the story being set in a different time and place than theHarry Potterseries made it feel distinct and unique. ThenThe Crimes of Grindelwaldcame out, and the story took a rather jarring turn away from being about Newt Scamander and began focusing on therelationship and rivalry between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, as well as the wizarding politics at the time. While this might have been an interesting topic to discuss in a different series, it wasn’t what audiences were coming to see in aFantastic Beastsmovie. Why even keep that title if the beasts are going to take a backseat to the story of Wizard Hitler?
It seems like the world just might be growing a bit weary of the new wizarding world content that just feels lifeless and wrung out. Warner Bros and the executives behindFantastic Beasts2and3really seemed to have misunderstoodwhat stories their audience really wanted to see. If they continue to release unwanted sequels toFantastic Beasts and Where To Find Themthat just keep discarding everything that made the first movie good, they’re going to eventually lose any good favor that the fandom still has left for the series.
Rather than trying to milk this franchise for all that it’s worth and completely wring it dry, it might be a good idea for them to leave the series as it is - asa nostalgic memory in the minds of fans. That way, instead of remembering the slog that was theFantastic Beastssequels, the legacy ofHarry Pottercan be focused on the magic of that initial series, and how it was able to capture the attention of the world in the way it did. Oversaturating the market might be a solid plan from an advertising standpoint, but not if it’s going to make fans look back on the franchise with disappointment and longing for what it used to be.
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