Do you want more of Rowling's Wizarding World?

[Gaith]

After a period of relative quiet since the conclusion of the Harry Potter movie series in 2011, 2016 has seen three major additions to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World canon: the two-part London-based play Harry Potter andThe Cursed Child, its accompany script book, and the first non-book adaptation movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The play has apparently been doing solid business, with talk of eventual expansion, and Beasts has had a solid if unspectacular opening.

I can't help but notice, however, that the Potter-verse hasn't exactly set this forum on fire: the thread about the play only ran two pages, and the Fantastic Beasts thread isn't the hottest one either. (Indeed, according to the search function, this summer ended a four-year drought of the word "Pottermore" being mentioned at all.)

So, question time: do you want more Harry Potter and/or Wizarding World media? Are you looking forward to seeing the saga of Dumbledore and Grindelwald at the movies? Are you curious to know more of the post-Deathly Hallows time frame? Do you plan on demanding the movie actors re-shoot the DH epilogue when they grow to be the appropriate ages? Or are you content with the existing HP books and/or movies, and indifferent to this "new" stuff?

Myself, I quite enjoyed the first four books and movies (especially Years 3 and 4), but I was in middle and high school for most of the phenomenon, and much more open to a series in which the fate of the world hangs on the actions of children, to increasingly strained credulity, than I am now. What's more, I thought Year 4 set up the promise of a greatly expanding world, which was utterly betrayed by the backstory-obsessed Years 5-7, and I consider the end of the series (even before the wretched epilogue) to have been a pitiful whimper. Finally, the visual spectacle of seeing people wave sticks and shout at each other, rather than fight with swords, lightsabers, or their limbs, wore out its welcome. I'd like to see the third and fourth movies again at some point, and hope to enjoy them as nostalgia pieces, but I don't see myself ever revisiting the full book or film series.

What about you all?

 

[Grendelsbayne]

The Cursed Child doesn't exactly make me excited, considering the format. I'll probably read it eventually, most likely from the library.

I am very interested in Fantastic Beasts - I love the time period, Redmayne is a good actor and the trailers looked great. But its doubtful whether I'll see it in theaters, because my theater going time is somewhat limited and I was more interested in Dr. Strange this month and next month if I make it to the cinema I'll definitely be seeing the Passengers. Plus it's the kind of movie I'd love to see with my wife, and she doesn't want to see it in theaters because of the risk of annoying kids ruining the movie. We'll probably be spoiled before we even see it since we play Lego Dimensions and my wife is really looking forward to the Fantastic Beasts pack, so we'll probably have played that before we get to see the movie.

Of course, I thought the books were ok and enjoyed all the HP movies, but I was never a huge fan to start with. I certainly wouldn't have considered it a terrible loss if we'd never gotten anything else, and I would not demand any kind of rewritten ending (what was even wrong with the ending?). And I'm probably far more interested in FB than I ever would've been for a continuation of Harry Potter post voldemort.

 

[Venardhi]

I'm more interested in Fantastic Beasts than I was in the last few movies of the film series but it just doesn't rise to the level of enthusiasm I have for Star Wars or the Marvel (CU) films. The books I had more fondness for but by the end of the series it seemed to be increasingly conflicted between the annual formula and trying to tell a grander story. When she finally broke out of it in the final book I felt a definite sense that Rowling was struggling with the plot structure, especially in the middle third or so.

I'll be off to see FB(AWTFT) later today so we'll see if that reignites my enthusiasm any but when you consider the pretty insane dozen or so years of EXTREME popularity the series had from 99 onward it is only natural to see a downturn at some point. I imagine this weekend will be pretty huge in the US and they've already bested the production budget worldwide so I don't think there is any risk of unprofitability for WB here.

 

[Relayer1]

Yeah, more please.

I read the novels as an adult and thoroughly enjoyed them - Rowling is a good author regardless of the target age group.

I'd like more books if possible, but films are fine.

 

[Kemaiku]

MOAR.

 

[kirk55555]

I'm always up for more. I loved the original seven books, liked most of the movies (except Half Blood Prince, which was a good book but a terrible movie, partly because it was changed the most of from the book and not for the better), and I thought that The Cursed Child was an ok book, although I'd have preferred a real novel to a script book. I'm going to see Fantastic Beasts later today, and I'm excited.

 

[LJones41]

Sure, why not? As long as the stories are well written. I rather enjoyed "Fantastic Beasts" a lot, despite the brown-tinged photography and Eddie Redmayne's mumbling.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I'd love a movie about Voldemort's rise to power. Getting to meet James and Lily before their untimely death.

We've heard so many stories from other witches and wizards but I want to actually see the events that they all talk about. It would be awesome.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I will tell you what I want to see. I'd forgotten about it, until Facebook Memories popped up a status I'd written last week a year ago.

John Malkovich as the world's greatest dragon hunter. But he's a muggle! And the Ministry of Magic partners him with a snotty, naive, wet-behind-the-nose wizard to take down something big. In my mind, it's like Indiana Jones, but with John Malkovich and magic.

 

[Kane2026]

The Harry Potter has its charm and I certainly would like to see more. But creatively I wonder if more original material can be delivered

 

[gblews]

I loved the Potter movies, and am very happy they have enlisted Ms. Rowling in order to keep the franchise going. The Wizarding World seems to me to be brimming with any number of tall tales.

 

[intrinsical]

The Trek unverse is rich enough to support 5-6 different crews spread over different eras, I don't see why Rowling's Potter-verse cannot support more than one set of characters and one story.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

Absolutely, I want more! I was in my 40s when the original books came out. I fell in love with them and with Harry's world -- even more so than with TNG, which was my introduction to and is still my favorite Star Trek. I like, but don't love, the movies. I enjoy them, but not nearly as much as the books.

Cursed Child was disappointing; let's just leave it at that. I've seen Fantastic Beasts twice and am almost as excited about it as I was about the original series. Can't wait to see the next installment! Yes, in general, I prefer books to movies, and a screenplay isn't as satisfying to read as a novel. But I'm actually enjoying the turnaround: seeing the movie with no preconceptions, and then reading the screenplay to pick up little details that I might have missed on the screen.

 

[LJones41]

I rather liked the general story for "CURSED CHILD", although I had some issues with some of the characterizations - like Ron Weasley - and some of the plot points. But if I must be honest, I had several issues with Rowling's seven novels.

 

[suarezguy]

I'm not interested in the play or Fantastic Beasts, to me the main story was fully told (and concluded in a somewhat disappointing way).

 

[marillion]

My kids grew up with Potter and with us reading the books to them. I've enjoyed most all of the movies and I'd love to see the play (as well as the inevitable screen adaptation). Haven't seen FB yet, though I'm sure we will over the holidays. I really enjoy the universe and would like to see more of it, as long as it's kept fresh. I like call backs and tie-ins to existing works, but if they are truly stand-alone vehicles in their own right, I'm fine with that too.

Much like with Trek, there exists an entire universe of stories to be told without having to use the original cast/characters. I'm all for it!

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I rather liked the general story for "CURSED CHILD", although I had some issues with some of the characterizations - like Ron Weasley - and some of the plot points.

Yeah, that's a fair description.

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

Short answer… Heck yes!

 

[Mage]

I wasn't very thrilled about the idea/concept of Fantastic Beasts. As in, how do you get a movie out of this? A story. Trailers had me half excited, but not loads.

After having seen it, I'm ready for more. It wasn't perfect, mind you. Could do with more plot, and more character development. But this was the start of a new series, so plenty of time for that. So yeah, I'm kinda wanting more. Made me wanna rewatch all the other movies straight away.

 

[Gaith]

The Trek unverse is rich enough to support 5-6 different crews spread over different eras, I don't see why Rowling's Potter-verse cannot support more than one set of characters and one story.

Fair point, but then, the Trek universe isn't a chosen/secret society fantasy, which carries disturbing implications even if you get token Muggle-born wizards and Squibs from time to time. I know Rowling's a liberal whose heart is in the right place, and the whole secret society thing has its obvious charms and storytelling advantages, but there's an odious hypocrisy in preaching equality for all, so long as your community is more equal than the rest of the world, and as the stories shift from children to adults, it's only going to get more pronounced.

I've always felt the HP series should have ended with the worldwide wizarding community going public, much like Neo promised to do at the end of The Matrix (and then apparently completely forgot about for the sequels). Said process might not make for a good story - though who knows, maybe it might - but it'd be a bold finale.