Summary
Warner Bros. is working on an adaptation ofHarry Potterfor their MAX streaming platform. However, tt’s time for Warner Bros. to leave the Wizarding World ofHarry Potterbehind. The original movies were wildly successful, so it’s understandable that the studio wants to capture that lightning in a bottle again, especially afterFantastic Beast’sdisappointment. However, that’s not to say the answer doesn’t lay in a wizard named Harry.
The Dresden Filesis a series of books that follows the wizard Harry Dresden, and it’s prime for a proper adaptation. A large chunk of fans who first fell in love withHarry Potterwere children, and while the series gradually matures with each book, it’s still aimed at younger audiences. Jim Butcher’sThe Dresden Files, on the other hand, gives audiences a more mature wizarding world from the start with an established wizard who has a bit of a penchant for burning buildings.
RELATED:Harry Potter Games Don’t Need Remakes With Max’s Series In The Works
Who is Harry Dresden?
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, that’s a mouthful, is a private investigator in Chicago, Illinois and a wizard. The only advertising wizard within the United States, in fact. However, he’s not the only supernatural entity. It’s because of these other supernatural entities (and some non-supernatural figures) that Dresden consults with the Chicago Police Department regularly. The vast majority of the force dislikes Dresden, but he has a faithful ally in Lieutenant Karrin Murphy. Whether she believes in magic or not, she has his back through thick and thin. She’s far from Harry’s only ally.
Dresden often calls on the help of his friend and knight, Michael Carpenter. Michael wields the sword Amoracchius which Dresden learns is the sword of legend, Excalibur. Dresden’s roommate, a spirit of intellect who lives within the confines of a human skull, Bob offers advice, information, and assistance with spells when Dresden needs it. Despite what theSyFy series leadsits viewers to believe, Bob never has a human form in the books. Harry also finds help from unconventional allies, such as Thomas Raith, a White Court vampire. As time goes on, Harry’s circle of friends and allies grows with some being former enemies and others being temporary in order to attain a common goal.
Harry Dresden isn’t the only wizard within this urban fantasy. In fact, Harry is quite the outsider with the White Council of Wizards. His only true friend in the council is his father figure Ebenezar McCoy. Just as with Chicago PD, the vast majority of the Council mistrust Dresden for various reasons. He doesn’t exactly make himself the easiest to trust with his incessant need to disregard rules, pave his own path, and respond with disrespectful sarcasm every chance he gets.
The Dresden Files Avoids the Game of Thrones Problem
Every time there’s a new adaptation based on a piece of literature, audiences remember themess thatGame of Thronesbecame.Game of Thronespremiered on HBO in 2011, the same year the latest book,A Dance with Dragons, hit bookshelves. The HBO series ran for eight years, but the showrunners ran out of source material near the latter seasons due to them covering all of the book content. Sadly, it’s a risk studios take when they option an incomplete series. However, the infamous David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (the showrunners) rightfully thought that George R.R. Martin would produce a new book before their adaptation concluded.
This wouldn’t be an issue for any studio that chooses to optionThe Dresden Filesfrom its writer Jim Butcher. The series might not be complete, but it’s 17 books deep, giving audiences plenty of material to digest until Butcher finishes the urban fantasy epic. Furthermore, there are plenty of short stories toexplore cinematically if a TV showneeds additional material. 23 short stories, to be exact, split between two anthology books. Jim Butcher also writes considerably fast, making fans wait five years at the most, but that’s because he juggles theCodex AleraandCinder Spiresbook series.
Why the Dresden Files Over Harry Potter?
For starters,The Dresden Fileshad a poor first live-action outing and desperately needs redemption. Paul Blackthorne was an excellent choice for the titular character on the short-lived series, but it seemed like nobody behind the camera read the books when it came to casting the other characters. Not only did Valerie Cruz’s Connie Murphy make a better fit for Susan Rodriguez as described in the books, Butcher named the literary version of Murphy Karrin, not Connie. That should give an apt impression of how well the TV adaptation went because it didn’t get any better.
Harry Potter, on the other hand, had a critically acclaimed feature film series that was overwhelmingly faithful to the source material. Were there inaccuracies in the translation from book to screen? Absolutely, and every adaptation is going to have some differences. Leaving out the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare made creative sense as it would detract from the overall story. Much like Peter Jackson left Tom Bombadil out ofThe Fellowship of the Ringsince he wasn’t pertinent to the main story. However, there’s a line that filmmakers shouldn’t cross when adapting literature. Imagine the frustration and outrage if they named the movie version of Harry Carrie Potter.
Additionally,The Dresden Filesdoesn’t come with any controversial baggage thatHarry Potterdoes. While it’s true that there’s no such thing as bad publicity - allHarry Pottercontent will make money with or without Rowling’s involvement - Warner Bros. could dive into a new IP that isn’t divisive. In fact, it’s arguably more accepting because it follows characters from diverse backgrounds and faiths and incorporates a variety of mythologies, giving everyone a voice.Harry Potterfans will find familiarity in Harry Dresden as an outsider forging his own path and forming his own found family. Warner Bros. should seriously considerThe Dresden Filesas anew series on MAX.
