22 Movies That Could Help Fix The Wizarding World Of "Harry Potter"
With compounding controversies and box office disappointment associated with the Fantastic Beasts series, Warner Bros. seems to be returning to the drawing board for their next chapter in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World.
Warner Bros.
Though Cursed Child may be years away from hitting the big screen, Warner Bros. might not have to look far for inspiration, as there are many potential directions for this magic-fueled franchise right in front of them. In this list, I've put together 22 films that could help breathe some life into this dying adventure franchise...
1.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Fantastic Beasts may have focused on expanding the Wizarding World with major new characters and existing legends, but they might want to take a page out of Rogue One's book and showcase how important the little guys could be in the most extraordinary and perilous scenarios.
2.X-Men: First Class
While Fantastic Beasts took us back to the younger years of Albus Dumbledore and other notable Wizarding World characters, there's still much more that can be mined from the past of the Wizarding World, whether it be focusing on the inaugural class of Hogwarts or dig into the pasts of Hagrid, Sirius Black, Severus Snape or other beloved Harry Potter characters.
3.Pan’s Labyrinth
While Fantastic Beasts did a commendable job of exploring the expansive and imaginative fantasy franchise, Warner Bros. could take a page out of Pan's Labyrinth's book by delving even deeper into the rich, beautiful, and ancient cultures of the more monstrous and mythic creatures populating the Wizarding World.
4.Dark City
Much like the ambitious sci-fi noir Dark City, the Wizarding World could be greatly rejuvenated by a more personal and atmospheric tale of magic gone awry, perhaps a city-bound story of a magic user out of his element or even a story within a magical locale solely from the perspective of a muggle.
5.Cast a Deadly Spell
One criticism of Fantastic Beasts was the unwavering similarity between all three films, while the Harry Potter films shifted tones and attitudes based on the subject matter, raising stakes and advancing age of the leads. To that point, Warner Bros. could really shake things up by following the lead of Cast a Deadly Spell, injecting a procedural model or detective story wedged in a naturally deceptive and mischievous backdrop that could explore the underbelly of the Wizarding World.
6.Rashomon
The Wizarding World is probably best defined by its ability to balance mischief and oddities with more gravitas-driven drama, and with a world that's so naturally built on the manipulation of reality, a Rashomon-esque twist on the Wizarding World with competing visions from magicians with opposing allegiances would entirely be in line with the sillier side of Rowling's universe.
7.The Magnificent Seven (2016)
While the Wizarding World has rather intentionally kept its time on American shores to a minimum, there are plenty of stories within this universe that could be told outside of Europe. In fact, the possibilities at hand with a western that trades stallions with broomsticks and six-shooters with wands could be a game-changer for the Wizarding World, especially if it shares the sheen and commercially viable action of the recent Magnificent Seven remake.
8.Chronicle
While the first Harry Potter film debuted in 2001, the final film in the series hit theaters 10 years later. Of course, in that decade, the world changed...a lot, most notable of which was the fact that technology advanced from flip phones to smart phones, which became critical parts of everyday life by 2011. Should Warner Bros. take the Wizarding World to modern times, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine the next generation of budding sorcerers taking advantage of their technology to share spells, preserve their illusions, and bring some brand new visuals to the old-school franchise.
9.1408
It's no secret that the Wizarding World has had its fair share of horror-driven moments, from dementors to lycanthropes to other terrifying monsters of all shapes and sizes. Should Warner Bros. ever decide to take a similar route to their DC films and experiment with genres for one-off films within the Wizarding World, a reality-shifting haunted house story akin to 1408 filled with new Hogwarts students could make for one hell of a fun (and frightening) time.
10.Pig
Pig's unique subversion of the "revenge movie" archetype could serve as a stellar guiding light for the next chapter in the Wizarding World by offering a compelling, nonviolent example for how more emotional personal stories can be told in larger and more bombastic worlds, especially if the franchise decided to do a similar story with fan favorite characters like Hagrid or "Mad-Eye" Moody.
11.Spirited Away
As stated before with The Magnificent Seven, there's many frustrated Harry Potter fans who have seen such a limited worldview of the Wizarding World. While Fantastic Beasts explored magic bureaucracy in a few other countries, it would be rather refreshing to see the magic phenomena of different cultures coming into play with the classic magic of the Wizarding World thus far, with Spirited Away serving as an exceptional example of the type of family friendly international mysticism that could be featured front and center.
12.Mortal Kombat
Though the concept is more along the lines of Pokemon than Mortal Kombat, Fantastic Beasts' strangely low stakes made most of its action sequences dreamlike and largely inconsequential. However, a new Wizarding World entry with some impressive (yet not fatal) magic exhibitions or tournaments in the vein of Pokemon battles or a less gruesome Mortal Kombat could become a must-see picture for Harry Potter fans.
13.The Woods
So where do the expelled and rejected Hogwarts students go when they need guidance for their training? Perhaps, the Wizarding World could take a hint or two from this underrated witchy boarding school horror picture should they explore the darker flip side of the Harry Potter world, in which some wizards-in-training could be a bit more troublesome in their magic hijinks.
14.Nobody
Nobody might not be the most apparent next influence for the future of the Wizarding World, but the core concept of the aged, normal man tapping into their exciting and singular past could be a boon to Warner Bros., as a story of a powerful former wizard returning to the action of the Wizarding World in middle age could make for a fun side story within the franchise.
15.Trollhunter
Trollhunter does a phenomenal job of telling a story in a fantasy realm that feels lived-in by portraying the menial aspects of the world. If Warner Bros. decided to emulate that same vibe, a new chapter of the Wizarding World set around the regulators, fixers, and peacekeepers throughout the universe would not only operate outside the expectations of main Harry Potter canon, but potentially bring a new voice entirely to the franchise.
16.Something Wicked This Way Comes
One of the reasons that Fantastic Beasts felt somewhat exhausting to fans by its third film was that, when compounding with the Harry Potter franchise, all of the threats felt apocalyptic in nature. With a smaller-scale villain or something more personal as opposed to an "end-of-life-as-we-know-it" threat could add greater emotional investment for audiences, and Something Wicked This Way Comes could be an incredible blueprint for how a magical threat can feel so intimate and nightmarish.
17.Dragonslayer
On one hand, one of the primary appeals of the Wizarding World is removing the ancient elements so often associated with fantasy stories, placing magic and marvel among industrial worlds. However, that doesn't change that there could be an audience for a more medieval spin on the Wizarding World, perhaps even to provide insight to the pre-Hogwarts civilization dealing with the roots of what would become the living, breathing world of Harry Potter.
18.Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Honestly, who wouldn't be excited for an animated tale in the Wizarding World, especially one that could take advantage of the ambitious visual freedoms provided to the storytellers? Into the Spider-Verse has proven the audience's willingness to embrace separate canon existing alongside live-action franchises; the same could be said for new adventures within (or, perhaps, just outside) the main narrative of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts.
19.The Witches of Eastwick
There have been plenty of comedic tales of witchery and wizardry on the big screen, from The Witches to The Sword in the Stone, and arguably, the most memorable moment of The Secrets of Dumbledore is the hilarious sequence of Newt navigating the swarms of lobster-esque monsters. However, a more comedic-driven Wizarding World movie in the vein of The Witches of Eastwick could help make the films more relatable to modern audiences who recently showed up in droves to support another Daniel Radcliffe-starring high-concept comedy, The Lost City.
20.The Cannonball Run
To Warner Bros. credit, there are still plenty of surprises for longstanding fans of the Wizarding World with each passing film. However, there's yet to be a truly globetrotting adventure born out of the franchise, and one can only imagine that Warner Bros. could really find lightning-in-a-bottle with another original competition within the universe in the vein of Quidditch or the Triwizard Tournament. Enter The Cannonball Run, which the Wizarding World could take inspiration from if they needed a fun way to introduce new characters competing in a race, scavenger hunt, or other ridiculous gambit that could take a detour from the dour politics of Dumbledore, Grindelwald, Potter, and Voldemort for a little while.
21.The Replacements
Speaking of Quidditch, this magical sport remains one of the most enduring elements of the Wizarding World...so why not at least consider a full "Pro Quidditch" movie? I believe that the franchise could do well to take the lead from the charming sports flick The Replacements in assembling a ragtag team of misfits coming together in an underdog Quidditch story that captures the humor and genuine heartfelt moments so often associated with the Harry Potter series.
22.The Princess Bride
Of course, Harry Potter is not the only significant student in the history of Hogwarts, and the Wizarding World is certainly big enough to accommodate more heroes. But while audiences have been hot-and-cold on Newt Scamander as the lead of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, more tales throughout the history of Hogwarts could help introduce fans to a new face to lead the franchise, which is where The Princess Bride comes into play. If we can see Hogwarts throughout different eras, whether it be from the perspective of an aged wizard looking back or an unreliable sorcerer being caught fudging the details of his magical schoolyard antics, there's a certain nostalgia factor that could help bridge the experiences of old fans who grew up with Harry Potter and a new generation of viewers looking to see brand new adventures in the hallowed halls of Hogwarts.
