For so many people, the Harry Potter universe is a beloved franchise and family-like fandom that they’ve grown up with over the years. You may have made friends and memories revolving around Harry Potter, or maybe the characters and stories were there for you at a time when you needed them most, and for that, you’ll always hold them some place dear.
Unfortunately, though, sometimes people can ruin a good thing, and in this case, the person in question is the franchise’s creator, J.K. Rowling. Known for writing the Harry Potter book series that eventually blossomed into the franchise we know today, Rowling is also known for her anti-trans comments on social media. She’s said hateful things with no regard for the power her words have, and in doing so, has turned away a large portion of the Harry Potter fan base against her.
With a new video game releasing and rumors of reboots and more spin-offs circling about, a lot of people are wondering how the Harry Potter franchise can continue on — if it even can — with such a controversial person profiting in the background. But perhaps there are a few ways Harry Potter can continue on without Rowling and breathe new life into the franchise.
Warner Bros. Could Buy Her Out and Fully Own the Creative Work
It’s no secret that in the world of Hollywood, franchises typically do very well, and Harry Potter is certainly a strong example of that. However, it’s been about 15 years since the last “real” Harry Potter — not counting the Fantastic Beasts spin-off. Warner Bros. Entertainment owns the production rights to the franchise, while Rowling owns the intellectual property rights and the Warner Bros. CEO has mentioned that he’d like to dive back into the Harry Potter franchise and work on some new movies. It’s surprising considering the controversy surrounding Rowling, but in terms of business, it makes sense considering how big of a sell Harry Potter is.
It’s hard to predict the future and tell what the turn of a new Harry Potter movie would be like today, and it’s also unclear if another movie will even come to fruition. But in the event that Warner Bros. does decide to start development on one, the studio could do itself a major favor by cutting Rowling out of the equation. One of the big issues with supporting officially licensed Harry Potter merchandise and media now is that Rowling directly profits from this and has said via Twitter rants that she uses her money to fund anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the U.K. So when you buy Harry Potter merch — including the new Hogwarts Legacy game — not only are you giving money to her; you’re giving money to someone who’s actively funding hateful, harmful practices. If Warner Bros. were to continue with the Harry Potter franchise without Rowling, they could have a better chance at people showing up to see and support the movies because they could do so with a clear conscience, knowing she’s not getting a dime.
This may be a difficult, even expensive, process though, and would require Rowling to relinquish her intellectual property rights with the franchise that made her all her money. While this would be great for the sake of the franchise and its fans, it’s not the most likely scenario — not impossible, though, just unlikely.
Bring On Younger, More Diverse Talent to Modernize the Franchise and Cut Her Out Creatively
If Warner Bros. cut Rowling out, they’d be totally free to revitalize the franchise as they see fit, which would include bringing it up to speed with the modern times. They already have some of these liberties as the owners of the production rights for the franchise, but without Rowling altogether, there’s no creator to consult with on ideas for characters, representation, and presentation. Even before Rowling’s anti-trans remarks, the Harry Potter franchise has come under fire for things like Rowling’s antisemitic caricatures, lack of diversity among the characters, and her penchant for choosing lazy, racist names for her few diverse characters, like Cho Chang and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Without her around, Warner Bros. could bring on younger, more diverse talent to help modernize the franchise. From the actors to the writers and producers, younger, diverse talent could help take the lackluster representation Rowling wrote and turn the franchise into something that feels all-encompassing and representative of the varying walks of life that enjoy Harry Potter. We’re already seeing a bit of this with the Hogwarts Legacy game developers introducing the franchise’s first trans character, Sirona Ryan. However, there’s still much work to be done considering the name they chose to give the character.
With the right people in the creative office, the Harry Potter franchise could certainly get its second wind. Clearly — even though the trans character is poorly named — it’s possible for positive change to be made now, even with Rowling still in the picture in some capacity — though she didn’t directly work on the game. But with so much room to grow, it’d be best to completely revamp the creative teams that work on anything Harry Potter related to make continuous genuine efforts toward something better.
Fans Can Buy Merchandise That Isn’t Licensed, So She Doesn’t Profit
This point is less about the franchise and more about the fans. It can be hard to hear that something you found great joy in or someone you may have looked up to isn’t what you thought they were or becomes tainted in some way. Unfortunately, this is something that happens quite often, from The Cosby Show to R. Kelly’s music, sometimes good things are attached to questionable people, and by proxy, those once good things become stained by the person’s wrongdoings.
Whether you enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books as a kid and loved seeing them come to life on the big screen, or you just became a fan thanks to the movies alone, it’s likely you have some kind of connection to the characters and stories. You likely also have memories attached to the franchise, too. Perhaps you remember watching the movies with a loved one who’s no longer here, or you used the magical world to escape from your real day-to-day. Whatever it is — and whether it’s Harry Potter or something else — we form connections to these stories and the characters that bring them to life. So of course you want to buy a Harry Potter keychain or T-shirt and sport your Hogwarts house on your coffee mug. It’s a fandom you’re a part of and being a part of something feels good. But now that the franchise’s reputation has been tainted by the person who created it, what do you do?
For one, you don’t have to throw away all your Harry Potter merch. Maybe you decide to stop wearing it out of the house if you feel like people might get the wrong idea about you at first glance, but you don’t have to get rid of it all. One of the best ways to remain a Harry Potter fan and enjoy having themed merch without giving money to Rowling is to avoid buying officially licensed Harry Potter merchandise. This means you can buy items from places like Etsy and Redbubble, or even local craft fairs. You could also thrift items, too if you happen to run across something at a local thrift store. So long as it’s not officially licensed, Rowling won’t see a cent, and when it comes to the Harry Potter franchise carrying on in a positive way, cutting her paycheck should be step one.
