With the final installment of the Harry Potter series in 2011, things have been pretty quiet—unless you re-watch and re-read the series repeatedly like myself.
For the most part, the Harry Potter world seems to be fading, unless you are one of the lucky few who can shell out a couple hundred dollars to visit the Harry Potter Wizarding World in Orlando, Fla.
If you aren’t members of Pottermore or frequent Mugglenet.com, then HP could really seem like a thing of the past.
Fortunately, by the grace of some divine power, Warner Bros. Entertainment announced a partnership with J.K. Rowling Thursday for her new film series that will based on the Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Even though it won’t directly involve Harry Potter and the gang, Potter-heads worldwide can get out of that magic-less slump and have something to look forward to again.
In a statement released to Warner Bros., Rowling said that this will not be a prequel or a sequel to the Harry Potter series.
“(It is) an extension of the wizarding world,” Rowling said. “The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films.”
For those keeping up with the Rowling digital age, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will also be developed for video games, consumer products and extended into Pottermore.com.
In the words of the first doctor from “Doctor Who,” I can only say that this will be “absolutely fantastic!”
Growing up with the books and the movies, I can call myself a Potter-head and like all Potter-heads, we want this series to last forever. From the way things are looking, that just may turn into a reality.
I think it goes without saying that there is only so much that can be done with the Harry Potter series.
Hopefully this extension will spark future extensions with Rowling’s other books, such as “Quidditch Through the Ages” and “Tales of Beedle the Bard.”
Dinah Bucholz published a cookbook based on the HP series, “The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook,” which lists in-depth recipes for all dishes that are featured in both the movies and books, as well as dishes that could only exist in Harry Potter’s world. Maybe we’ll get a magical televised cooking show in the future.
With all of this combined, some may look at it as a way of consumerism in popular culture. Although this is an extremely profitable scenario, I think it opens other doors that can stem from the HP series and can still allow for the fandom to continue.
Visit mugglenet.com for the latest news on anything HP or follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/MuggleNet.
Lorain Watters may be reached at [email protected].
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