Harry Potter Spinoffs We Want To See On The Big And Small Screens
Who doesn't love a good spinoff? "Frasier" was spawned from the title character — as played by Kelsey Grammer —appearing on the popular sitcom "Cheers." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" gave us "Angel." "Doctor Who" spawned "Torchwood." The "Karate Kid" film franchise led to popular streaming series "Cobra Kai." Of course, there are plenty of spinoff series and movies that aren't so great — we did ask who doesn't love "a good spinoff." "The Blacklist" was spun-off into a season of "The Blacklist: Redemption." "Joey" was the afterbirth of "Friends." And "Once Upon a Time" took us through the looking glass to "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland."
Wizarding World fans have been able to enjoy a few spinoffs as well, from the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" to the spinoff film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and its sequels, "The Crimes of Grindelwald" and "The Secrets of Dumbledore" — starring Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander. Then in early 2021, we heard rumors that a "Harry Potter" live-action series in development for HBO Max.
That got us thinking: what would we like to see out of the upcoming series set in the Wizarding World? Further, what other films or spinoff shows should be developed? Well, we came up with a fair share of ideas, some better than others, for TV shows, movies, faux documentaries, and even a sitcom or two. Here are some "Harry Potter" spinoffs we want to see on the big and small screens.
Hogwarts: The Four Founders (film or series)
Much of the inter-student rivalry we see in the "Harry Potter" movies comes from the respective houses of our favorite characters. Of course, the title character, as played by Daniel Radcliffe, was a member of Gryffindor House, as were his two best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). His arch-nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), belonged to House Slytherin; his opponent-slash-ally in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson), was a Hufflepuff; and everyone's favorite weird chick, Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) was a member of Ravenclaw.
Each of these houses, of course, was named for one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. So why not a film about the Hogwarts founders? It could explore what made them combine their efforts to create a school for the magically inclined. We would get to see the traits associated with students of a given house brought to life with the namesake founders incarnated. Given the contrasting nature of each of the founders, as extrapolated from the aforementioned signature traits, such a scenario is ripe for drama and conflict.
"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has fleshed out the history of Hogwarts a bit on the official Wizarding World website. "Their reason for doing so was because they had the selfsame yearning, to make the world's best magic school." And so they did, in the 10th century Scottish Highlands, "away from Muggle eyes." After all it was "a dangerous time for witches and wizards, who were being persecuted by Muggles hostile to magic."
Series about a Quidditch team
The wizarding sport of Quidditch has played a memorable role throughout the "Harry Potter" book and movie series. Young Harry Potter notably joins the Gryffindor Quidditch team as its new seeker in his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, having shown off his natural talent on a broom chasing down Neville Longbottom's (Matthew Lewis) Remebrall, which Draco Malfoy had wickedly thrown in the air. Malfoy, of course, joined the Slytherin Quidditch team in their second year; we're sure it didn't hurt that his father had outfitted the team with Nimbus 2001s. Quidditch serves as a backdrop for fleshing out conflicts and a vehicle for advancing other plot points; Hermione believes Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) was bewitching Harry's broom during a match in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" when it was really Professor Quirrell (Ian Hart), and the pageantry, drama, and conflict at the Quidditch World Cup in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" only further the idea.
We're thinking about a series that follows the adventures — or misadventures — of a given Quidditch team on a weekly basis. We're thinking Gwenog Jones' team, the Holyhead Harpies, given that Professor Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) name-dropped her in "Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince," and the Harpies are the only all-female team in the league, according to the Wizarding World website. The concept works on both the dramatic and comedic fronts and could be as irreverent as "Ted Lasso," as serious as "All-American" or "Ballers," or a perfect mixture of laughs and high-stakes action and drama like "The Replacements."
Young Newt (series)
The popular "Fantastic Beasts" movies follow the quirky magizoologist played by Eddie Redmayne as he seeks to change how wizards and witches view the amazing and powerful magical creatures that populate the world. "There are no strange creatures," Newt says in "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," only narrow-minded people. Well, he says "blinkered people" — and Lita Lestrange completes the line for him making it clear it's a common refrain she's heard him say countless times — but that's not exactly a common descriptor. Think about a horse with blinders on, only allowed to see what they allow it to. That's what Newt means about people who consider the unknown to be strange and dangerous without a second thought.
We meet Newt as an adult in the first "Fantastic Beasts" movie, which itself is both a prequel and a spinoff. In the second movie, we get a glimpse into his younger years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under the tutelage of Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law). Why not, then, take it a step further to create a spinoff series telling the tale of Newt's formative years and how he became such a lover of fantastic beasts? There's a popular sitcom from which we're more than happy to borrow the idea of a spinoff prequel series telling of a popular character's time as a child: "Young Sheldon." "Young Newt" can give us a fuller, light-hearted look at Newt growing up; much in the same way the original "Harry Potter" followed the title character from his time as a first year through his sixth year, a Newt Scamander prequel-to-the-prequel can show us Newt's education up until he's expelled from Hogwarts and reveal the details behind said expulsion.
Alastor Moody's Auror Files (series)
Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson) is the most famous auror in the Wizarding World. The self-described "Ministry malcontent" has an edge about him that comes with his time catching dark wizards in magical law enforcement. Despite the fact that Harry Potter continues to call him "Professor Moody," the famous former auror isn't the one who served as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"; Barty Crouch Jr. (David Tennant) was behind those lessons, courtesy of copious amounts of polyjuice potion.
In truth, the real Alastor Moody didn't get a ton of screen time. He's briefly shown at the bottom of his own magical trunk in "Goblet of Fire"; he leads the trip to Order's headquarters at 12 Grimmauld Place and engages in a bit of debate in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"; and he leads the procession of false Harrys as the Order seeks to transport him safely to the Weasleys' Burrow in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," during which he's killed.
Doesn't this incredible character deserve more? We say yes and we say he should have his own series that follows his career as an auror. While we're wary of the idea of procedurals, it should be easy to conceive of a self-contained, episodic narrative that fits into the greater Wizarding World as a whole. Think about it: a doe-eyed, idealistic young Alastor Moody shows up for his first day as an auror and slowly learns over the course of the series how going by the book can get an auror killed.
The first Wizarding War (film)
The Wizarding World has been fleshed out in two film series. The original "Harry Potter" movies followed the title character as he came of age and dealt with everyday issues as a student at Hogwarts, but the over-arching schema also followed Lord Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) resurgence, leading up to the Second Wizarding War, which culminated with the Battle of Hogwarts. We also have the "Fantastic Beasts" movies, the first two of which take us back in time to see the rise of another dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp), leading up to his climactic battle with Albus Dumbledore.
While we don't know the exact year in which the "Fantastic Beasts" movies' arc will end, it seems likely there will be a considerable gap between these two respective timelines. A good portion of that could easily be fleshed out in a series or film(s) about the First Wizarding War, in which Voldemort initially rose to power, combated by the original Order of the Phoenix. We already know most of the characters involved, courtesy of flashbacks and exposition throughout the "Harry Potter" films. We already know the basic details of the conflict as well. It's really just a matter of actually fleshing the events out in full detail.
Three things would be key to the tale of the First Wizarding War: the initial murders Voldemort commits to create horcruxes, in his quest for immortality; the betrayal of Lily and James Potter at the hands of Peter Pettigrew (Timothy Spall); and the wrongful arrest and incarceration of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) for said betrayal.
The Marauders (series)
Speaking of James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, another fan-favorite idea for a "Harry Potter" spinoff is a series about the Marauders — as in, the creators of the Marauder's Map. What do these three wizards — with the addition of Remus Lupin — have to do with the magical artifact Fred (James Phelps) and George Weasley (Oliver Phelps) give Harry to help him sneak his way to Hogsmeade Village undetected? They created it, of course. How else would Professor Lupin know the map never lies?
We learn Remus (David Thewlis) is a werewolf in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"; we also learn that Sirius is Harry's godfather and that he and Peter are shapeshifters. What's not explained is that, when he attended Hogwarts, Remus went to the Shrieking Shack every month for his transformations during the full moon. There he would howl and moan, which is the real reason the building got its reputation as the most haunted building in Britain. When James, Sirius, and Peter figure it out, all three become animagi to keep him company during these times.
The names Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs should sound familiar. James transformed himself into a stag — hence Harry's patronus — and the name Prongs comes from his antlers. Peter is named Wormtail as a result of what his tail looks like in rat form. We know Sirius is called Padfoot in dog form. Remus is Mooney because, duh, he's transformed by the moon.
We want to see a series about these young bucks as they become the best of friends during their first years at Hogwarts, before the inevitable betrayal.
Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
In the "Harry Potter" films, much of the action takes place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, we learn in "Goblet of Fire" that it's not the only school at which young, magically inclined people can learn. Fleur Delacour (Clémence Poésy) is the Triwizard champion from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, which is located in France. The Bulgarian bon-bon Viktor Krum (Stanislav Ianevski) represents the Durmstrang Institute, another wizarding school in Europe.
In "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," we meet Queenie (Alison Sudol) and Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), two American witches who live in New York City. The sisters both work for the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), the members of which definitely didn't learn magic at Hogwarts, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. Tina and Queenie studied magic at an American institution called Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which was founded by an Irish witch named Isolt Sayre — who ran away from home and traveled to the New World aboard the Mayflower, disguised as a young boy — and her muggle husband James Steward, all of which and more can be found at the Wizarding World website.
Why not, then, a series or movie(s) about Hogwarts' North American counterpart. It's clear the students of Ilvermorny are proud of their alma mater, given that Queenie calls Newt Scamander's assertion that Hogwarts is the best magic school "Hogwash." Let's explore the characteristics inherent to being sorted into the Pukwudgie, Horned Serpent, Thunderbird, and Wampus houses and see how things are done at the school at the peak of Mount Greylock in Massachusetts.
Hogwarts: After the War
Two important things were made clear in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." First, the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft is in ruins as a result of the Battle of Hogwarts. Like, the place is in shambles. Seamus Finnegan (Devon Murray) helped blow up the bridge with his particular proclivity for pyrotechnics and Lord Voldemort and his army of dark wizards destroyed quite a bit of the rest. We're pretty sure the damage is a bit beyond a simple mending charm like Reparo.
Additionally, we know that Hogwarts was, at some point, rebuilt in some fashion or another, courtesy of the film's epilogue, which shows young Albus Severus Potter (Arthur Bowen) getting ready to take the Hogwarts Express to its namesake destination for his first year at the beloved school. We also know that the epilogue is set 19 years in the future, which either gives Argus Filch (David Bradley) nearly two decades to get that mess mopped up with Mrs. Norris, or get some help along the way.
How about we see how Hogwarts was rebuilt in the years following the end of the Second Wizarding War? It's taking an idea set forth in the Marvel Comics series "Damage Control" — which follows the crew that repairs all the damage done by the super-powered dust-ups between heroes and villains — with the idea that Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) had at the end of "Batman Begins" — to take the opportunity presented in repairing his burnt-down mansion to build a proper Batcave. What kinds of improvements can be made to Hogwarts Castle to make it bigger and better than before?
The Ministry sitcom
Throughout the "Harry Potter" films, we learn of Arthur Weasley's (Mark Williams) fascination with muggle objects, owing to his employment in the Ministry of Magic's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. His quaint incompetence trying to board the tube or how he steps off an escalator in "Order of the Phoenix" is a perfect example of how the magically inclined are not equipped to use modern muggle technology and his fascination makes for an ironic parallel to how magic befuddles the uninitiated as well.
Of course, his office is just one of several different departments within the British Ministry of Magic. One or more of them would make for a great mockumentary sitcom, á la "The Office" or "Parks and Recreation" — though the initial British version of "The Office" might be a better source of inspiration. We've already covered the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in our proposed "Alastor Moody's Auror Files" series and the Department of Magical Games and Sports would play a role in a potential Quidditch series about the Holyhead Harpies, so both of those are out.
We're thinking either a Ministry-wide series or one that focuses on either the Department of Mysteries — which could be both funny and dramatic — or the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes and, specifically, the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad. It should sound vaguely familiar — Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) name-checked that particular group of Ministry workers in the first act of "Prisoner of Azkaban" when he tells Harry that Aunt Marge (Pam Ferris) has been deflated and her memory altered. Who wouldn't want to see a weekly round-up of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad's best and worst jobs?
Wizards in WWI (faux documentary film)
This one comes out of two seemingly random lines from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." When Newt is in MACUSA, he encounters an envoy from the British Ministry of Magic who asks what he's doing in New York. Over hearing the surname "Scamander," Momolou Wotorson (Christian Dixon) asks "Theseus Scamander? The war hero?" to which the reply is no; Newt is his little brother. This tidbit tells us Theseus (Callum Turner) is one of the many wizards and witches who fought and aided muggles in World War I, despite the Minister for Magic's express decree not to get involved.
Courtesy of an exchange Newt has with Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) — "Of course I fought in the war. Everyone fought in the war" — we learn that Newt himself also played some role in the battle; he said he mostly worked with dragons — Ukrainian Ironbellies — on the Eastern Front. Courtesy of the "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Newt Scamander" cinematic guide, we know his activities were a part of a covert Ministry program to employ the dragons, ostensibly to fight for the Allies. There was just one problem: they kept eating everyone.
Given that we know British wizards did indeed participate in the global conflict, it would be interesting to present the different ways in which the magically inclined participated and how they helped — or hurt — the outcome of the muggle war in a faux documentary. It would be best not to focus on Newt's work with dragons or whatever Theseus did; instead, it could tell the tale of people who worked alongside them and other efforts in WWI.
Albus and Scorpius
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" wrapped things up nicely for the titular hero, as we see in the film's epilogue. Nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry is married to Ginny and has a growing family, including daughter Lily Luna Potter and sons James Sirius Potter and Albus Severus Potter. The latter Potter son is conflicted about heading to Hogwarts for his first year, caught up in the same dilemma his father faced: what if he gets sorted into Slytherin? Well Papa Harry says that simply means Slytherin house will have a great wizard in its ranks. After all, he's named after two of the greatest headmasters in Hogwarts history, one of whom was a Slytherin.
Spoiler alert: we know canonically — courtesy of the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" — that Albus Potter is indeed sorted into Slytherin, where he becomes best mates with Scorpius Malfoy, a young boy of whom we see a brief glimpse during the "Deathly Hallows 2" epilogue. And just so there's nothing unclear about it, Scorpius is indeed the son of Harry's former nemesis, Draco Malfoy.
We want more. How about "The Adventures of Albus and Scorpius," which can pick right off where "Deathly Hallows 2" ended and fully flesh out their years of friendship born out of their parents bitter rivalry? There are so many directions to take a series like that and it's probably the easiest way to charm some of our favorite "Harry Potter" cast members into making a cameo appearance.