The announcement of a new Harry Potter reboot has sparked a debate amongst the fans of the book and movie series. As the beloved series returns to the screen with its upcoming TV show set to air winter 2026 on HBO Max, students reflected on their feelings surrounding the reboot.
Mary Johnstone, a Sophomore and economics major, said she will not be watching and feels like the movies did a good job telling the story already. “I’m not going to watch it because I think it’s already perfect as is. You watch the characters grow up, how are they going to make another one? He already grew up, the story is over.”
Aly Brown, junior and psychology major, feels pretty passionate about the former Harry Potter movies and has no desire to explore the same universe if it’s only focused on characters already known. “I think the new Harry Potter reboot should not be a thing. I think reusing the same story over and over again feels like they are just milking it for money. If they are going to focus on the Harry Potter universe they need to pick new characters and not try to reuse the stuff that’s already been written.”
Samantha Macklin, junior and journalism major, mentioned feeling slightly different. She shared that she feels confident for the reboot as long as it stays true to its intentions. “If they stay true to the books, a reboot could actually give us the most accurate version of Harry Potter yet. I think a reboot has the potential to explore parts of the books we didn’t fully get to see the first time, but it also has big shoes to fill.”
Sophie Fischel, junior and marketing major, felt mixed about her thoughts. On one hand, she felt like the reboot could be special for kids like it was for her growing up, but at the same time she believes it has been drawn out and questions the ethics of it. “I am really excited for the younger generation to experience this. However, I think that they have been dragging on the franchise for a very long time and if J. K. Rowling has any sort of royalties in this, I don’t want to watch it.”
Overall, reactions among LMU students are varied but reflect a bigger conversation on balancing new media while respecting the past.
