The movie “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will be released in theaters Nov. 18, and the previews promise it will be the beginning of a “new era of magic.” While fans look forward to the movie, the degree of that excitement varies.
On Oct. 13, Rowling announced at a pre-premiere event that Fantastic Beasts is just one in a series of movies. Time.com reported that Rowling said, “I’ve now done the plotting properly, so we’re pretty sure it’s going to be five movies.” The creation of a whole new series can be a daunting task, especially for loyal Harry Potter fans.
Josh Draper, a freshman at WSU, believes that the true essence of Harry Potter rests in the original books and movies. “Harry Potter was Harry Potter, and now they’re adding all this stuff to it,” Draper said. His loyalty lies with the books he read multiple times as a kid. Draper did not seem too thrilled by the movie, but admitted that he would probably go see it anyway.
On the other end of the spectrum, Isaac Howard, freshman, read the books and thought “this can’t be it” when he finished the last one. He wanted the series to continue, and now it has. The upcoming movie is a prequel to the original books and follows the adventures of a wizard named Newt Scamander. “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is a textbook at Hogwarts, the fictional school of witchcraft and wizardry where much of the Harry Potter series takes place. In the books, it recorded details Scamander learned about magical creatures through his experiences with them.
Howard stated he was “very, very excited” about the new movie coming out and claimed that Rowling must love the Harry Potter series, “as much as we do or else she wouldn’t continue writing it.” But his fellow students felt Rowling’s motivation for creating the prequels may be something else.
The new movie and the assumed four others that will follow it could be seen by some, like Alyse Hartley, junior, as a way for Rowling to make more money. But Hartley also believes that either way it is a win-win for both Rowling and her fans because fans get to relive the magic that Harry Potter first brought to them. Draper also believes that Rowling may be trying to widen her fandom and that this new movie could be “trying to get the current teenagers to like Harry Potter and get involved.”
Hartley considered the end of the original books and movies “the end of an era” in her childhood. She is looking forward to seeing the new movie because it will be a “chance to go back to that in a new way.” If this new movie really is the beginning of a “new era of magic,” then Potter fans will either embrace it with open arms or hate it for ruining the books that shaped their childhoods.
