HBO is preparing to reboot Harry Potter, but Warner Bros. may be better served with one of these eight Wizarding World spin-offs. Despite controversy surrounding creator J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. seems endlessly eager to keep her ever-successful Wizarding World around. Having adapted the seven Harry Potter books into eight movies, Warner Bros. later sought a spin-off franchise set in the 20th century with three Fantastic Beasts movies (originally planned to extend to five), written by Rowling herself.
Following mixed reception and box office disappointment, Warner Bros. is going back to the Harry Potter drawing board in a reboot for HBO. Planned for a decade-long run over seven seasons, Harry Potter is now in production at a mini-city constructed solely for filming and the actors. While there is naturally buzz around the reboot, many have questioned its necessity, as the big screen adaptation only ended 14 years ago and has aged relatively well.
The Harry Potter reboot has been justified through its format switch from movies to TV and how the extended runtime will allow the creators to stick more loyally to the books and include storylines that previously went unadapted.
That said, as the original eight movies mostly captured the Harry Potter storyline, one could argue that a spin-off to expand the Wizarding World and introduce fresh characters and plots could be a better use of the $1 billion expected to be spent on the HBO show.
8 Harry Potter Spin-Offs That Could Be Perfect for HBO
The Marauders/First Wizarding War
To get the most basic Wizarding World spin-off concept out of the way, many have long been eager to rewind to The Marauders' time at Hogwarts, around 20 years before Harry Potter would begin his magical adventures in The Sorcerer's Stone.
The series could star James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew as they become friends, take on animal forms, manage a werewolf friend, and create the Marauders' Map that Harry would later acquire.
While The Marauders would have plenty of room for Hogwarts mischief, that could be balanced with a story of the First Wizarding War, ultimately culminating with Pettigrew's betrayal, Voldemort's defeat, and Harry's parents' deaths.
The Ministry of Magic
The Wizarding World has already spent plenty of time in magical schools thanks to Harry's infamous saga, and it may be time to see what day-to-day life looks like for the grown-ups in this world, possibly at the Ministry of Magic.
Taking place at the Ministry of Magic, a political drama HBO Max spin-off could be set at any point in the Harry Potter timeline, even after The Deathly Hallows, to explore the ruckus and power struggles that followed Voldemort's defeat.
While HBO Max could craft new characters to lead a Ministry series, the premise leaves room for familiar faces to guide the ship. After all, the whole Golden Trio ended up at the wizarding government eventually, with Hermione rising through the ranks to Minister for Magic, while Harry and Ron landed as Aurors.
This story could even follow different characters in their departments, from the Department of Mysteries to the Department of Magical Accidents, all the way up to the Minister of Magic, telling separate or interconnected tales.
The Founders
Hogwarts has existed in the Wizarding World for over a millennium since 933, when it was formed by four founders and good friends - Godric Gryfindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin.
The founders and their unique traits that would become the criteria for the Hogwarts houses would certainly be enticing stars to front a big-budget historical epic in the Wizarding World, exploring how they built and formed the school.
Couple that with tales of ghosts, an ancient magical threat, and the conflicts between founders that would lead Slytherin to build the Chamber of Secrets, The Founders has the making of a Game of Thrones-esque drama.
A Foreign Wizarding School
Harry Potter took its readers and moviegoers through seven (ish) years at Hogwarts while also chronically the Second Wizarding War. While the Scottish Highlands-based is the only magical school in the U.K., there were others located around the globe in the Eastern European Durmstrang, the French Beauxbatons, and the American Ilvermorny, which debuted in Fantastic Beasts.
Any of the three other confirmed Schools of Witchcraft and Wizardry would offer a fresh perspective on the Wizarding World. Not only would fans meet an all-new cast of professors and students, but it would spotlight a totally different culture and way of teaching magic, backed up with a totally original storyline.
Quidditch Through the Ages
Some may be aware that Harry Potter's first spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, was inspired by an in-universe book of the same name. That book was written by the franchise's star, Newt Scamander, as an A-Z guide of magical creatures, but it can also be purchased in the real world, written by J.K. Rowling.
Another of these books was Quidditch Through the Ages, chronically the history, evolution, and rules of the magical sports. A Wizarding World spin-off centered around this book could star its author, Kennilworthy Whisp, going match-to-match and team-to-team in crafting his sporting works.
A sports series set in the Wizarding World could have a unique flair, with Whisp filling a role akin to Ted Lasso's Ted Crimm, formerly of The Independent. Through his lens, Quidditch Through the Ages could even have a rotating cast between seasons, telling the story of different teams' rise to glory or fall from grace.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard
When it comes to Harry Potter's in-universe books, one can't help but discuss The Tales of Beedle the Bard. This collection of children's fairytales became all too relevant in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows thanks to The Tale of the Three Brothers, which, of course, explains the origins of the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak.
That said, there were other tales found in the collection, such as Babbity Rabbity and her Cackling Stump, The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, and perhaps even more.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard could lend endless creativity to a potential spin-off, as these stories could either be pure fairy tales or grounded in wizarding lore. An animated anthology series for HBO Max could be an intriguing way to go, with various writers getting involved to craft their own magical tales.
Hogwarts Legacy
Warner Bros. has big plans for Hogwarts Legacy going forward after the open-world video game broke records, reportedly seeing it as a "long-term franchise." The studio is even said to be "coordinating some of the big-picture storytelling elements" for a Hogwarts Legacy sequel with the upcoming HBO series.
After the 1890s-set Hogwarts Legacy was praised for its original story of a goblin rebellion and ancient magic, perhaps HBO could adapt the story into a big-budget TV series and bring its unique historical characters to screens.
Alternatively, Hogwarts Legacy proves there can be completely original stories at the wizarding school that expand the lore without clashing with Harry Potter, so something original in the same vein may instead be even better.
Fantastic Beasts 4
Warner Bros. already took one deeper dive into the Wizarding World with the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Planned as a five-movie saga, penned by J.K. Rowling and directed by franchise veteran David Yates, the tale travelled the 20th-century magical globe through the lens of Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander.
The focus shifted greatly across the three released movies to instead explore Albus Dumbledore's emerging feud with Gellert Grindelwald. While the magical titans dueled in The Secrets of Dumbledore, the franchise never got to their infamous final encounter, described among the greatest of all time.
After mixed reactions and box office results to the Fantastic Beasts franchise, a fourth movie, sadly, never moved forward. But HBO could be the perfect vehicle to resurrect this franchise and finally fulfil the promise of bringing Dumbledore and Grindelwald's iconic duel to screens, played by Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen.
Alternatively, a Fantastic Beasts series could keep things simple and focus on Redmayne's magizoologist instead, with an episodic "beast of the week" format that sees him travel the world and encounter magical creatures.
