Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Pretty simple question. What do you think and why?

I guess I've never understood why certain movies get remade over and over (Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Superman, Spiderman) while a movie like Gone With the Wind has never been remade. Maybe it will someday but it's been over 70 years and still no remake.

Now that Harry Potter is done and over with, what do you think the chances are that at some point--5, 10 years from now a new Harry Potter series will come out? I would say why not? The movies were directed by 4 different people so I don't think any one person "owned" the franchise, although the style of all 8 movies were very similar. So much was left out or changed from the books that even though the basic story would remain the same, it seems like enough could be added or changed to make the movies decidely different from the originals. I believe the books are still quite popular and I have to believe that everything Harry Potter will remain popular. Each movie did close to a billion dollars and I would also assume that if Rowling wrote another book and that book was made into a movie it would also do a billion dollars.

Wouldn't it seem reasonable that at some point the studio will say "Hey 20 years ago we made a series that grossed us like $8 billion, why don't we try it again?" Since it had a track record, maybe they would even be willing to hire one director to do all 7 or possibly more films and throw say $2 billion into the pot right away and film all the movies at once.

Or what about Lord of the Rings? Again, a series that took in like $3 billion and I can only assume the Hobbit will bring in another billion so the 4 films will most likely gross $4 billion, so why wouldn't the studio want to give it another shot in 20 years?

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

1. Wrong forum.

2. Inevitably.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Oops. Sorry. Yeah totally wrong forum. Can somebody move it please.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I could see it as a TV series.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I totally was considering posting a thread similar to this. For some reason, I was thinking about if Star Wars would ever get remade.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I expect a remake as early as 2013 even, or some stupid split-off television series, focusing on a few aspects.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

The Luna Lovegood Hour?

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I think I'd be okay with 20 years but no sooner.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

They couldn't film it at once. At least one book per year if they want to keep the child actors. Harry starts book 1 around 10 and is 17 by the final book so you have to let the kids grow as the characters grow. I also think it would probably be good as multiple miniserieses on TV. Keep as much from the book as possible and maybe add extra scenes.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Lucas remakes Star Wars more often than I change underwear.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I mean, remade in the sense that when Lucas eventually dies and the rights move to someone else (who the fuck knows), would they remake the original ones. Not remade in the sense where they keep adding new shit to the original movies. ;)

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

No, too much work.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I don't think that there will be a Harry Potter reboot within the next 20 years at least, no.

One of the main reasons why comic book reboots can happen so frequently is because most of those universes have a lot of different source stories and characters to pull from. A wealth of various interpretations of the superhero and other characters already exist, as is the case with Batman, and so they lend themselves more easily to storytelling flexibility. Stories based on books, like HP or LOTR, are mostly set in stone and there's little reason, or desire, to see a "different take" on the story. The only thing that would justify a reboot (besides the obvious profits) is a significant advance in CGI technology.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I think the profits are the main justification. I mean Harry Potter has been an absolute gold mine for the last decade. It's going to suck for the powers that be to look at the financial statements over the next few years and not see the Potter revenue on there.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

:suicide:

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Reboots...:gah: -kd5-

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

So we don't call them re-makes anymore? Now they are re-boots?

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Call it whatever you want. I've heard both terms.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

They could definitely keep the series going with dtv Warner Premiere films about side characters, using excised subplots from the films. Warner Bros does a tidy business with dtv animated fare, too - you could redo the whole series in "Harry Potter: The Animated Adventures", whether it be new adaptations of the original source material or a tv series following the kids with original weekly stories. Not only would that be carrying the fire for a new generation of viewers, but the style of animated Potter would be a whole new opportunity for toy and videogame spinoffs. This is WB's Star Wars - I expect Warner to glean whatever they can from the series as long as JK Rowling lets them. It's not the time yet for new live action adaptations, however; the home video, toy and video game licenses still have ten years of profitability left in them, if not more.


I see them as reboots when the intention is to start not just one film over, but the franchise, using the same characters but not necessarily the same story, when the original franchise has burnt out or faded away. The Amazing Spider-man is not a remake of Spider-man, but it is designed to restart the franchise anew, hence reboot.

I wouldn't call a new Harry Potter film a reboot, since the original franchise ran its course. Nor would it be a remake, because that implies the film is the source material, not the book series (just like John Carpenter's The Thing is not a remake of The Thing From Another World, but rather a new adaptation of Who Goes There?).

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Only if the books are as popular with future kids as they are now. I don't think so.
Take the upcoming Dark Shadows movie. It'll make money because of Depp and inflation but won't have lines around the block at theaters like the 1970 film.
The world stopped whenever Dark Shadows came on in it's heyday. You couldn't find a kid outside from 3pm-3:30 during the summer. It's was broadcast twice a day for kids who got home from school to late to catch the first airing. The 1991 remake which was waaay better than the original flopped.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Personally I would rather see a Harry Potter TV series than new movies. The fourth through seventh books were just too long to comfortably adapt into a two hour movie. Even though the Deathly Hallows was split into two movies, it still left a lot of stuff out.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Me too! Justin Bieber as Luke, Selena Gomez as Princess Leia, Josh Holloway as Han, Denzel Washington as Lando, and Kenneth Branagh as Kenobi.

You're welcome...

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I'd prefer a Japanese animated series based on Harry Potter. In fact, they've done lots of things like it, e.g. "Witch Hunter Robin" and "Magic User's Club."

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

maybe in 50 years after the author dies and her drug addicted grand kids who have no job and need some cash will license the IP again

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

:lol: Again?

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

pixar animated?.......no worries on aging

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

No.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

if they do it...it'd be a very long time. It sure as hell wouldn't be a reboot. It'd be remaking the series of books into film. I can see them just rereleasing them in the future...again after a long time.

I'm not a fan of these films (except Azkaban...Cuaron is great), they're good films..just not my bag.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

They'll do it as a Broadway musical and eventually make the musical into a movie.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Pretty much this. As long as Rowling is alive I don't think it will happen.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

That's the big difference. Heck, there's no comic series or anything because Rowling has reportedly refused. Superhero properties, like others have said, have a long history of work-for-hire creators reinventing and tweaking the characters (see the DC universe right now) and they are largely controlled by the corporations (though there is an ongoing dispute about Superboy). Musicals are done by different casts all the time, so I guess it's more natural for there to be different movies based on them. Then you have the "remakes" that really, really change the IP and just keep the same or similar name (this happens a lot with old TV shows becoming movies... isn't there a 21 Jumpstreet movie coming out?), and that's just a way to cash in on an old IP.

Stuff like HP or LOTR is a pretty close adaptation of the books they're based on as well.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

The only way a reboot happens is if J.K. Rowling agrees to it. She has creative control as part of her contract.

Based on what I've heard about her I don't expect to see a reboot in her lifetime. She's very happy with the movies as they are, and they will continue to sell well for years to come.

Having said all that I still haven't seen any of the HP movies, although I did buy the first three on blu ray for my daughter. I'll watch them sooner or later...

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I'd rather see a mini-series that actually shows the stuff that happens in the books, not 25% of the books.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

How can they possibly make a Harry Potter reboot, when they're practically making sequels to original Harry Potter franchise approximately every year?

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

Because it's over now. These are studios so obsessed with "franchises" that even if a comic book franchise in the making disappoints, they'll try again in a few years (Hulk, Green Lantern).

I don't see any need for a "reboot" for 20 years or more. And while I would like to see Pixar take on a licensed property some time, this ain't it. It's at least a 10-year commitment to do them all, and I certainly don't want to see Pixar doing that instead of a variety of movies.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

As I was reading the books, I felt that this would be a good way to tell the story. But it would have to be a series -- way too much to cram into movies. For what it's worth, I was never really impressed with the books.

I don't know that it is a matter of the author's lifespan ... somebody asked why superhero movies keep getting "re-booted." It really has to do with the studio retaining rights to the characters. Superhero movies get rebooted so that studios do not lose the rights. I don't know if there is one, but if there is a clause, I could see WB coming up with something (spin-off, reboot) so they do not lose the rights to the characters in the Potter-verse.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

:scratch2:

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

WB owns DC, so they will never lose the rights to make anything in the DC universe. Batman got rebooted because there was nowhere else to go with the franchise after Batman & Robin. Superman is in the same boat. Spider-Man is a bit different being a Marvel property, but they aren't making a new film to maintain the rights as much as they are to make money. The original creative forces from the Spider-Man trilogy didn't want to continue, so Sony decided to start fresh.

The retaining rights thing is more what you saw in the early 90s with the horrible Captain America and Fantastic Four movies. Cheap flicks made simply to retain the rights, not big budget affairs.

As for Harry Potter, it's too soon to tell. We're talking about a property that didn't even exist 15 years ago. The books were big with the kids that grew up with them, but will they have standing and popularity with future generations? There won't be new books, so the franchise will have to stand as it is now.

I can't see the films being redone for decades, if ever.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

I'd love to see them do a spin-off series. Maybe something like Rosencrantz & Guildenstern with a couple side characters and the original storyline happening in the background. Malfoy's two stooges (Crabbe & Goyle) would be perfect.

Re: Will there ever be a Harry Potter reboot?
 

How popular was The Lord of the Rings in say 1998 or 1999 when negotiations for such a risky endeavor was most likely being discussed?

Honest to God, as a college freshman at that time, I had no idea what The Lord of the Rings was and had never heard of a Hobbit. The series was 50 years old by that time. It was still a younger audience that went to those films.

If made well and, more importantly, marketed well, it probably doesn't matter if the book series is still popular 20 or 30 years ago.