Fans Call on Warner Bros' David Zaslav to "Leave Harry Potter Alone"
It looks like many people believe that the Wizarding World is better off without multiple spinoffs — especially those produced by Warner Bros.' current leadership.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has triggered an online riot after he hinted that there might be more Harry Potter movies coming from his studio if the series' author, J.K. Rowling, is fine with it.
Not only are fans still at odds with the idea of involving J.K. Rowling, who is the subject of trans rights controversy, but also they are not quite okay with the very concept of reviving the Harry Potter franchise and milking it.
According to Zaslav, Warner Bros. will "focus on franchises" and try and bring new content to fans since there "we haven't had a Superman movie in 13 years" and "we haven't done a Harry Potter in 15 years."
Some fans questioned the math; after all, the Fantastic Beasts franchise alone is considered as part of the Wizarding World, and the new movie only came out several months ago. But for others, it's more than just reviving a once profitable franchise.
"As a Star Wars fan. Y'all better let it rest. When something ends well don't ruin it. Story of Star Wars was over after 6. The story of Harry Potter ended with Voldermorts death. Simple," Twitter user Lord_Vader2 admitted.
More radical fans are calling on Zaslav to "leave Harry Potter alone", and threatening boycott if Rowling is associated with the future projects — whatever those might be. People say "there's already been far too much" and "no one will watch" more movies, "especially from Zaslav".
The revival of the Harry Potter franchise seems challenging at least considering the controversy between the original cast and J.K. Rowling. Most recently, Daniel Radcliffe, who portrayed Harry throughout the movie series, has distanced himself from Rowling once again, noting that it was important for him to let everyone know that not everyone in the cast shares her controversial beliefs.
Rowling has been under fire over her stance on trans women rights. While she herself underlined that she "knows and loves" many trans people, she insisted that biological women's rights should not be undermined amid the fight for trans women rights.
Many Harry Potter actors were quick to denounce her for "transphobia", but there were people who sided with her — among them Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed Lord Voldemort in the series.
Still, there has been no clarity on any particular plans by Warner Bros. to proceed with the Harry Potter franchise. Currently, the studio seems more focused on developing the DCEU and bringing Henry Cavill 's Superman back.