JK Rowling’s Blast Fans Engage – The Hollywood Reporter

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It’s only been announced for a few hours, and it’s already controversial.

A Harry Potter TV series has been greenlit by Max (formerly HBO Max) which will remake JK Rowling’s beloved best-selling fantasy novel into a “faithful” long-running series to be released over 10 years. The ambitious project will cast a new leading role and include more details from the seven novels, which have often been excised in their previous adaptations in the Warner Bros. films. , which was launched in 2011. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Except, you know, there’s the whole divisive issue of Rowling herself.

Max couldn’t make a series without a deal with the author, who still has significant control over the movie rights to her stories. Rowling will participate in the new series as an executive producer, though she is not expected to have day-to-day control or contribute writing. Many consider the author’s frequent opinions about the transgender community offensive.

“JK is an executive producer, and her insights will be helpful,” explained Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content. “We’re in the Harry Potter business. The TV show is new and exciting, but we’ve been in the Harry Potter business for 20 years; “Our priority is what’s on screen. The Harry Potter story is an incredibly positive, positive story about love and acceptance, and that’s our priority, what’s on screen.”

When everyone read Bloys’ statement, they decided to forget their fears and take a wait-and-see approach.

Wait, this is the exact opposite of what happened. Here are some reactions from the media:

eagle Critic Kathryn Van Arendonk books“This faithful adaptation of Harry Potter, heralded with cowardly contempt so utterly nonsense of Rowling’s political influence, is a bad thing.”

Reporter Sean T. Collins books“If you interview an actor, filmmaker, or executive involved in the Harry Potter TV show and don’t ask a question about JK Rowling leading a hate group, you’re done, right out of the art club.”

Outside magazine chirp: “We don’t want any new Harry Potter content if JK Rowling is involved with the mutant content..”

Entertainment podcaster Dave Gonzalez chirp: “Ten years of the Harry Potter series with Rowling as an EP is just ten years of event journalism dragging its anti-transgender agenda into the news cycle.”

comma Editor-in-Chief Alex Zalpin quipped chirp: “The Witch Hunt against J.K. Rowling continues her 10-year commitment to faithfully adapting her novels, for the second time, now in television form, with the unlimited resources of one of the world’s largest entertainment companies! Witch Hunt!”

Here are some fans:Adaptation of each individual The “Harry Potter” writers in at least one season of the TV show are basically bound by a decade-long relationship with TERF JK Rowling. You don’t if you’re remotely open to accepting that trans men are men and trans women are women…” And: “Just be honest! Let’s say Harry Potter is a profitable franchise, you’re hoping to make millions on it and you don’t particularly care about the damage to the trans community from Rowling.” AndSo the president of HBO and Max Casey Bloys is transgender too, you get it! The claim of rhetorical neutrality is on the side of the unjust, and he really put his money where his mouth is by paying TERF JK Rowling to adapt her series ‘Harry Potter’ for TV. He chose money over human rights “.

It’s unclear if all of this will have any impact on the show itself, however it seems unlikely. The most recent test case will be the February release of the game Hogwarts Legacywhich was similarly criticized for the involvement of Rowling and He faced calls for a boycotthowever smashed sales records, Transfer of 12 million copies In just the first two weeks. The remote test would be Fantastic Beasts A movie franchise plan from five films was shortened to a trilogy amid a box office meltdown. Declining ticket sales coincided with the growing controversy surrounding Rowling’s views, but on the other hand, so were the movies somewhat shockingwith the second and third entries scoring less than 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s hard to pin that to Rowling’s controversy.

like 1 fan He penned it: “Ppl who claim to hate JK Rowling are so funny bc they still read her books, they still watch her movies, they still play video games, they still go to the Harry Potter theme parks, they still buy merchandise. You never go bankrupt. They need to realize that.”

As for Rowling herself, she released this statement: “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I look forward to being a part of this new adaptation that will allow for a degree of depth and detail only available through a long-running TV series.”