The British celebrate the return of Harry Potter. And the Warner Bros series, which is already pre-produced at the Leavesden studios in Hertfordshire, will generate around £1.5 billion in profit for the United Kingdom. The first season’s budget is said to be around $200 million, giving it a haul similar to that of “House Of The Dragon,” the “Game of Thrones” spin-off that drew record audiences in 2022.
Warner Bros confirmed that it will begin filming later this yearand the series that would arrive for Christmas 2025, is already the most anticipated reboot of all time, in a long list of reboots that have premiered or are yet to come.
Warner Bros. announced that there are several writers competing for the position, with their visions of the boy wizard story. Francesca Gardiner, creator of “Killing Eve” and “His Dark Materials”, is one of those fighting for the position. AND JK Rowling will oversee the selectionunder the premise of a “faithful adaptation” with “light touches” that “delves into each of the books that fans have continued to enjoy all these years.”
And Rowling’s books have sold 600 million copies worldwide, and the films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint exceed 10 billion dollars at the box office, figures that Warner wants to expand with the release of the series on Max (the platform that replaced HBO), mirroring the Disney+ strategy of rehashing its classics.
In 2023 the new version of “Shaking chills”, adaptation of the literary saga of the same name written by RL Stine, horror stories for preteens: premiered on October 13 in the run-up to Halloween. Stine’s stories, published by Scholastic, have made their mark since their release in the 1990s, with more than 400 million copies in print in 32 languages.
The new series, a collaboration between Disney Branded Television and Sony Pictures Television, has a first season of 10 episodes, and a second is expected later this year, with a new cast and stories. “Audiences around the world fell in love with the chills, thrills, heart and humor of the series, making it one of the most-watched shows,” said Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television.
The first season attracted 4.2 million total views worldwide on Disney+, and opened the door to other reboots: “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” arrived on the platform in the run-up to Christmas and was the most watched in January, also securing a second season.
Rick Riordan’s books had already had a run on the big screen between 2010 and 2013 (“The Lightning Thief” and “The Sea of Monsters”), with films that did not work at all. And the story was left unfinished. But now it could be seen complete with this reboot: Percy Jackson reached 13 million views in one week, and the first season accumulated 110 million hours watched.
Competence
Disney and Warner are not the only ones targeting reboots of sagas for preteens. This week it premiered on Netflix, “Avatar the last Airbender”, live-action series that restarts the story previously told in animated cartoons by Nickelodeon. And it received positive reviews. “The series is a watch. Fans should know that it makes a lot of changes from the original, but the cast is great,” said Megan Peters, ComicBook editor.
“This live-action version has done justice to the animated series. Gordon Cormier (Aang) is a revelation“added Tessa Smith of Rotten Tomatoes. An applause that the platform hopes will translate into views to continue the contract, after the failure of the story in the cinema (M. Night Shyamalan brought the story to the big screen in 2010).
And there are many more reboots to come. Judalina Neira (“The Boys”) is signed to Sony Pictures Television, through her production company Famous Last Words Productions, for the “Bewitched” reboot. Created by Sol Saks and produced by Harry Ackerman, “haunted” aired for eight seasons on ABC, between 1964 and 1972.
Starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, a witch married to Darrin, a mortal, the series chronicles how her powers and evil family hinder her efforts to live a normal life. The story had a cinematic remake with the 2005 film starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell,and now he will have another chance in series format.
And if it’s about witches, Netflix has the remake of “Sabrina, the teenage witch”, in a darker plan than the original, coincidentally are another of the hits of 2023: “Merlina”, the twist to “The Crazy Addams” (it broke a record, reaching 341.23 million accumulated hours viewed in just one week). And soon the reboot of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” could be added: Dolly Parton, the country music legend, producer of Buffy during all seven seasons and the spin-off “Angel”, said that they are working to “bring her back and renew it.”
For adults
Not all reboots are for teen audiences. Between 2019 and 2021, Netflix released the successful reboot of “Lost in Space” decades after the original series created by Irwin Allen: it ran from 1965 to 1968. The plot follows a family that crashes on an alien planet and must fight for their lives. The remake was directed by showrunner Zack Estrin, and stars Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins, Taylor Russell, Mina Sundwall, Ignacio Serricchio and Parker Posey.
Another successful reboot was that of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a series starring Will Smith in the 90s, which was now among its executive producers. “Bel-Air”, created by Andy and Susan Borowitz, is set in modern times. It debuted in 2021, was set in one of the richest suburbs of Los Angeles, and was renewed for a third season.
Same luck for “Gossip Girl”, which made its first appearance in 2007, about a group of privileged teenagers living on New York’s Upper East Side. The series based on the books by Cecily von Ziegesar starred Blake Lively. And it returned in 2021 with two seasons: Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who created the original series, returned as executive producers.
And there is more to come. Director Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) delves into science fiction for the reboot of “The X-Files,” according to a recent Bloomberg report. The filmmaker will assume the role of producer, in harmony with the creator of the program, Chris Carter. And the series will have a new cast: Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) and David Duchovny (Fox Mulder) will not be involved, although they could make a cameo.
And Greg Daniels, the showrunner of “The Office,” would be working on the reboot of the beloved and successful sitcom. Created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, in its English version, it also had an American adaptation that catapulted Steve Carell. “I can’t say if fans would want more of this, and when I say more, I don’t think they’re the same characters. “I think it would be something like an extension of the universe, like the way The Mandalorian is like an extension of Star Wars,” Daniels said, explaining the dynamics of the new show, with the old one as a starting point, in an expanded universe that makes it possible the revival.
by RN
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