As massive and ubiquitous as the Harry Potter franchise is, there isn’t actually that much material in the Wizarding World. After completing the main series of seven books, author J.K. Rowling wrote some in-world reference books, a sequel stage play, and finally the scripts for the Fantastic Beasts spinoff films. There are games that explore other parts of the timeline as well, but that still leaves a lot of the Wizarding World unexplored. That’s one of the biggest reasons it was surprising for Warner Bros. to pursue a Harry Potter remake as an HBO series so soon after the movies’ conclusion, but apparently that wasn’t always the plan. According to an unverified report by Knight Edge Media, the studio considered expanding the franchise with a series focused on the Marauders instead.
Warner Bros. launched HBO Max in the spring of 2020, and the company was quick to leverage the Harry Potter franchise as one of its most recognizable intellectual properties. A 2021 article in The Hollywood Reporter mentioned multiple Harry Potter spinoffs in development for the new streamer, and now insiders say one of them was a show about the Marauders. This is the self-assigned nickname for Harry’s father James Potter and his friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. The show would have explored their time at Hogwarts in the 1970s, including the creation the Marauders’ Map and other adventures.
A Marauders Series Could Have Expanded the Franchise
Before even considering the particulars of a Marauders prequel, this already sounds like a great idea. Exploring a different part of the timeline in the Wizarding World would have added new material and new life to the franchise, rather than rehashing familiar territory. It would have taken the pressure off the show to compete with the existing movies and let it find its own path. The Marauders are characters we already know a bit about — unlike the ensemble from Fantastic Beasts — so this would have hit close to home without feeling like a do-over.
On top of that, it just so happens a Marauders prequel is something fans have been wanting for a long time. There are posts on fan forums from decades ago remarking on how fun it would be to spend more time with these characters, and that sentiment hasn’t died down. The show could have given us a fresh perspective on many events we already know about, and there would have been room for new adventures as well. It would have made the Wizarding World setting feel more full and cohesive in all its forms.
Of course, remaking the main Harry Potter series has some obvious appeal to both fans and the studio, and there are things this show can do that the movies could not. These days, fantasy adaptations seem to be doing better as TV shows in general, and it makes sense for the studio to put Harry Potter on that same path. However, filling in a few obscure scenes from the books that were cut from the movies is not quite as exciting as fleshing out brand-new characters and exploring Voldemort’s first rise to power from behind the walls of Hogwarts.
The Marauders May Not Be Off The Map
Marauders fans can hold out hope that their prequel will still get made someday in some form, especially if the Harry Potter remake series is as successful as Warner Bros. is anticipating. Renewed interest in the franchise could spark all kinds of expansions, and this concept has clearly made its way to Hollywood boardrooms before. That said, there are some major obstacles that writers and producers would have to tackle before they could bring a Marauders series to life.
Like all prequels, a Marauders show would need to find some source of suspense and narrative tension for an audience that already knows what’s going to happen. One of the best ways for prequels to do this is to reach far enough back in the timeline to explore an event with some mystery left around it — for example, the Fantastic Beasts series’ focus on the dark wizard Grindelwald. This would be much more difficult for the Marauders, since their stories are laid out pretty plainly in the main series itself. Some fans might still like to go along for the ride and take a closer look, but the show would still need some enduring suspense to keep it going.
It’s also worth noting that a Marauders series would inevitably disappoint a large swath of the fandom one way or another when it comes to romance. Fan fiction and forum discussion about the Marauders is often linked to romantic ships among them — most notably between Sirius and Remus. The show would either need to walk a fine line of teasing out this pairing without confirming it, or take a firm stance, either way leaving many fans heartbroken.
Of course, that brings us back to Rowling, who maintains an enormous amount of creative control of the franchise. She has been criticized in the past for her handling of LGBTQ+ representation, and those issues have only grown worse in this decade. In 2016, the University of Florida’s Jacquelin Elliott wrote that Rowling had “foreclosed on alternate readings” of her book, with the popular Remus/Sirius pairing as a prime example. However, Rowling’s outspoken transphobia of the last six years has driven many fans to boycott her work in all its forms anyway, and a Marauders prequel would be unlikely to draw them back regardless of its approach to LGBTQ+ representation.
For now, the whole Harry Potter franchise — and Warner Bros. itself — hinges on the success or failure of the Harry Potter remake series, premiering on December 25 on HBO and HBO Max. The second season is in pre-production now.
- First Film
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Cast
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Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
- Created by
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J.K. Rowling
- Latest Film
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2