Actors love to justify working on anything Harry Potter related right now. While some are calling out the paychecks, others are pretending like they didn’t know JK Rowling is using all her wealth to hurt the trans community.
One such party is Keira Knightley, who was cast as Professor Umbridge in Audible’s “Harry Potter: The Full Cast Audio Editions,” faced pushback from fans for joining the series. Mainly because many have boycotted anything Potter related due to Rowling’s views. In recent years, she’s taken her wealth and used it to help fund pushes within the government to take away the rights from trans people in the U.K., effectively helping fund the war on trans rights.
To help stop fun Rowling and her vendetta against the trans community, many have decided against supporting her franchise. Harry Potter does get our money so then Rowling doesn’t get the money. Apparently, Knightley had no idea that the boycott was a thing.
“I was not aware of that, no,” Knightley said in a new interview with Decider. She went on to talk about how she thought we all need to “live to together” and figure out how to respect differing opinions. “I’m very sorry. I think we’re all living in a period of time right now where we’re all going to have to figure out how to live together, aren’t we? And we’ve all got very different opinions. I hope that we can all find respect.”
Someone funding the anti-trans movement is not simply a “differing” opinion. What Rowling is doing is causing incredibly harm to trans people and those who want to justify their role in a show by saying that it is to help everyone live in a world where we can “all find respect” is incredibly dismissive of what Rowling is choosing to do with her money.
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She’s been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff’s biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she’s your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell’s dog, Brisket.
Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The actor in the viral music video denouncing the 2024 Olympics looks a lot like French President Emmanuel Macron. The images of rats, trash and the sewage, however, were dreamed up by artificial intelligence.
Portraying Paris as a crime-ridden cesspool, the video mocking the Games spread quickly on social media platforms like YouTube and X, helped on its way by 30,000 social media bots linked to a notorious Russian disinformation group that has set its sights on France before. Within days, the video was available in 13 languages, thanks to quick translation by AI.
“Paris, Paris, 1-2-3, go to Seine and make a pee,” taunts an AI-enhanced singer as the faux Macron actor dances in the background, seemingly a reference to water quality concerns in the Seine River where some competitions are taking place.
Moscow is making its presence felt during the Paris Games, with groups linked to Russia’s government using online disinformation and state propaganda to spread incendiary claims and attack the host country — showing how global events like the Olympics are now high-profile targets for online disinformation and propaganda.
Over the weekend, disinformation networks linked to the Kremlin seized on a divide over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who has faced unsubstantiated questions about her gender. Baseless claims that she is a man or transgender surfaced after a controversial boxing association with Russian ties said she failed an opaque eligibility test before last year’s world boxing championships.
Russian networks amplified the debate, which quickly became a trending topic online. British news outlets, author J.K. Rowling and right-wing politicians like Donald Trump added to the deluge. At its height late last week, X users were posting about the boxer tens of thousands of times per hour, according to an analysis by PeakMetrics, a cyber firm that tracks online narratives.
The boxing group at the root of the claims — the International Boxing Association — has been permanently barred from the Olympics, has a Russian president who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its biggest sponsor is the state energy company Gazprom. Questions also have surfaced about its decision to disqualify Khelif last year after she had beaten a Russian boxer.
Approving only a small number of Russian athletes to compete as neutrals and banning them from team sports following the invasion of Ukraine all but guaranteed the Kremlin’s response, said Gordon Crovitz, co-founder of NewsGuard, a firm that analyzes online misinformation. NewsGuard has tracked dozens of examples of disinformation targeting the Paris Games, including the fake music video.
Russia’s disinformation campaign targeting the Olympics stands out for its technical skill, Crovitz said.
“What’s different now is that they are perhaps the most advanced users of generative AI models for malign purposes: fake videos, fake music, fake websites,” he said.
AI can be used to create lifelike images, audio and video, rapidly translate text and generate culturally specific content that sounds and reads like it was created by a human. The once labor-intensive work of creating fake social media accounts or websites and writing conversational posts can now be done quickly and cheaply.
Another video amplified by accounts based in Russia in recent weeks claimed the CIA and U.S. State Department warned Americans not to use the Paris metro. No such warning was issued.
Russian state media has trumpeted some of the same false and misleading content. Instead of covering the athletic competitions, much of the coverage of the Olympics has focused on crime, immigration, litter and pollution.
One article in the state-run Sputnik news service summed it up: “These Paris ‘games’ sure are going swimmingly. Here’s an idea. Stop awarding the Olympics to the decadent, rotting west.”
Russia has used propaganda to disparage past Olympics, as it did when the then-Soviet Union boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. At the time, it distributed printed material to Olympic officials in Africa and Asia suggesting that non-white athletes would be hunted by racists in the U.S., according to an analysis from Microsoft Threat Intelligence, a unit within the technology company that studies malicious online actors.
Russia also has targeted past Olympic Games with cyberattacks.
“If they cannot participate in or win the Games, then they seek to undercut, defame, and degrade the international competition in the minds of participants, spectators, and global audiences,” analysts at Microsoft concluded.
A message left with the Russian government was not immediately returned on Monday.
Authorities in France have been on high alert for sabotage, cyberattacks or disinformation targeting the Games. A 40-year-old Russian man was arrested in France last month and charged with working for a foreign power to destabilize the European country ahead of the Games.
Other nations, criminal groups, extremist organizations and scam artists also are exploiting the Olympics to spread their own disinformation. Any global event like the Olympics — or a climate disaster or big election — that draws a lot of people online is likely to generate similar amounts of false and misleading claims, said Mark Calandra, executive vice president at CSC Digital Brand Services, a firm that tracks fraudulent activity online.
CSC’s researchers noticed a sharp increase in fake website domain names being registered ahead of the Olympics. In many cases, groups set up sites that appear to provide Olympic content, or sell Olympic merchandise.
Instead, they’re designed to collect information on the user. Sometimes it’s a scam artist looking to steal personal financial data. In others, the sites are used by foreign governments to collect information on Americans — or as a way to spread more disinformation.
“Bad actors look for these global events,” Calandra said. “Whether they’re positive events like the Olympics or more concerning ones, these people use everyone’s heightened awareness and interest to try to exploit them.”
Daniel Radcliffe has responded to J.K. Rowling’s expectation of an “apology” for his advocacy on behalf of trans youth.
On Tuesday, The Atlantic published a lengthy profile of the former Harry Potter actor, in which he went deep on a number of topics, including his long history of support for LGBTQ+ people.
Daniel has long been an outspoken advocate for the rights of trans youth, even as Rowling has directly called him out. In a recent post on X, Rowling responded to a fan who said that they were waiting on a “very public apology” from Radcliffe and his co-star Emma Watson, calling the two actors “celebs who cozied up to a movement intent on eroding women’’ hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors.”
In response to that specific incident, Daniel merely told The Atlantic, “I will continue to support the rights of all LGBTQ+ people, and have no further comment than that.”
Elsewhere in the profile, though, Daniel spoke to the general tenor of his relationship with the author — or lack thereof. He revealed that he has had no direct contact with Rowling since June 2020, when she first published the lengthy blog post in which she repeated well-worn anti-trans tropes, including the specious idea that trans activism clears the way for men to impersonate women in order to assault “natal” women in bathrooms and changing rooms.
He added that he and his co-stars, including Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, were often subjects of mockery by the British press for showing support for trans people.
“There’s a version of ‘Are these three kids ungrateful brats?’ that people have always wanted to write, and they were finally able to. So, good for them, I guess,” he said. The actor added that while “nothing in my life would have probably happened the way it is without” Rowling, “that doesn’t mean that you owe the things you truly believe to someone else for your entire life.”
Daniel also said that his work with the LGBTQ+ suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project made him feel as though not speaking out “would have seemed like, I don’t know, immense cowardice.”
“I wanted to try and help people that had been negatively affected by the comments,” the actor said. “And to say that if those are Jo’s views, then they are not the views of everybody associated with the Potter franchise.”
Elsewhere in the profile, Daniel touched on his history with The Trevor Project, which he’s been working with for 12 years. When he was first introduced to the organisation in 2009, the actor said he saw an opportunity to help: “If there was any value in a famous straight young actor who was from this film series that could be useful in the fight against people killing themselves, then I was just very keen to be a part of that.”
Lastly, that work helped him realise that Harry Potter is a low-key gay icon. “A lot of people found some solace in those books and films who were dealing with feeling closeted or rejected by their family or living with a secret,” he said. (After all, Potter did literally live in a closet cupboard under the stairs.)
A version of this article was originally published on Them.
JK Rowling, the renowned author of the Harry Potter series, has been a vocal critic of Scotland’s new Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act, which came into effect on April 1, 2024. This legislation aims to provide greater protection for victims and communities by consolidating existing hate crime laws and introducing new offenses for threatening or abusive behavior intended to stir up hatred based on age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, and variations in sex characteristics. However, Rowling and other critics argue that the law could potentially criminalize freedom of expression, leading to concerns about its implementation and enforcement.
JK Rowling Satirizes Scotland’s Hate Crime Laws
Key Takeaways:
Aims of the New Law: The Scottish government’s Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act is designed to enhance protection for victims and communities by consolidating existing hate crime laws and introducing new offenses related to stirring up hatred based on various grounds.
Controversy and Concerns: Critics argue that the law could be used maliciously against certain groups, particularly gender-critical feminists, and that it may lead to a chilling effect on freedom of speech. There are also concerns about the pressure on the police force and the adequacy of training for officers to handle these complex issues.
JK Rowling’s Position: Rowling has been a target of criticism and potential legal action under the new law, with some activists threatening to lodge complaints against her for her gender-critical statements. This has led to discussions about the law’s application and the potential for misuse.
Police Response and Training: Police Scotland has promised to investigate all complaints made under the new legislation and has provided training to officers to apply the law in a measured way. However, there are concerns about the additional demands on officers and the potential for the law to be used to curtail freedom of speech.
Legal and Political Responses: The Scottish National Party (SNP) has admitted that Rowling could be targeted by trans activists under the new law, while the Scottish Tory leader has criticized the law as “unworkable and dangerous.” The law’s threshold for criminal liability is based on whether a reasonable person would consider the perpetrator’s action or speech to be threatening or abusive, rather than on the victim’s feelings.
Rowling’s criticism of the new laws is rooted in her belief that the legislation could lead to an overreach in policing and the criminalization of legitimate discourse. She has expressed skepticism about the police’s ability to distinguish between legitimate criticism and hate speech, suggesting that the police will be “very busy” under the new law. Rowling has also been involved in a public dispute with transgender broadcaster India Willoughby, where she was accused of misgendering Willoughby by referring to her as a man. This incident highlighted the potential for the new laws to be used to target individuals for their public statements, even if those statements are not intended to incite hatred.
🎉🌼🌸April Fools! 🌸🌼🎉
Only kidding. Obviously, the people mentioned in the above tweets aren’t women at all, but men, every last one of them.
In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their…
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has also criticized the new Scottish hate crime laws, echoing Rowling’s concerns about the potential impact on freedom of speech. Musk’s criticism was prompted by a post from Malaysian right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong, who summarized a story about the training police will receive to enforce the new bill.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has acknowledged that individuals like Rowling could potentially be targeted under the new laws, especially if activists lodge formal complaints about their statements. This admission has led to concerns about the practicality and fairness of the legislation, with critics arguing that it could be used to silence legitimate criticism and debate.
The controversy surrounding the new hate crime laws has sparked debates about the balance between protecting victims of hate crime and safeguarding freedom of expression. While the Scottish government insists that the law is necessary to protect victims, critics argue that it could lead to an overreach in policing and the criminalization of legitimate discourse.
JK Rowling supporters demand immediate action against police in hate crime trans row
JK Rowling’s criticism of Scotland’s new hate crime laws reflects broader concerns about the potential impact of such legislation on freedom of expression and the fairness of its enforcement. The debate surrounding the new laws underscores the complexities of balancing the protection of vulnerable groups with the preservation of open dialogue and debate.
A teacher’s YouTube channel clip has gone viral on social media as a master class in the ancient art of critical thinking. In less than five minutes, the teacher helps a young student through a simple critical thinking exercise using the alleged transphobia illustrated by acclaimed children’s author J.K. Rowling.
Without giving his own opinion on the possible transphobia of J.K. Rowling, the teacher asks basic questions that eventually lead the student to admit the unfortunate reality that he’s a willing victim of groupthink. Let’s dive into the quick lesson and what it means for our society.
I’ve heard it, so it’s true
Teacher and host of the YouTube channel The Secret Scholar Society Warren Smith conducted a thought experiment with a student who wanted to discuss the public opinion of J.K. Rowling, given comments she’s made about the gender ideology movement.
The student asks Mr. Smith:
“Do you still like her work despite her bigoted opinions?”
Mr. Smith challenges the student to prove that J.K. Rowling has bigoted opinions, given that he boldly asked his question as if it were a statement of fact.
The student replies:
“She has had a history of being extremely transphobic, I’ve heard.”
As any good educator, Mr. Smith forces the student to provide actual proof of said “extreme transphobia.” After a few moments, the student produces as evidence a tweet from 2019 when J.K. Rowling wrote:
“Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real?”
Also, your “Dress however you want, call yourself whatever you want: we won’t judge.” has a JK rowling vibe about it. 👇 Guess we know where you stand about trans people. pic.twitter.com/NGdPhkU6gw
— Stéphanie Dit…. ❄️🦖🦕⛰🇺🇦 (@StephanieJaneG6) April 5, 2022
Mr. Smith asked the student to critically analyze the tweet without considering what other people claimed about the tweet. This is when the clip gets comical.
“I don’t really have an opinion on it, but I’m just going with what a lot of other people have said.”
Uttering the above statement should be enough to snap an individual back to reality with an accompanying feeling of shame for being so vapid. However, it takes a bit more prodding for this young man to realize how mindlessly he has been following the masses.
Mr. Smith says gently:
“Let’s not go with what other people are saying. Let’s try and learn how to critically think.”
It doesn’t take too long for the student to admit the following:
“So to me no stating that sex is real is not transphobic, it’s just a fact of life.”
It’s important to note the student’s attempt to hold onto the fact that J.K. Rowling’s statement could be transphobic with three little words: So to me. This caveat puts a foot in the door known as “perceived reality,” where if someone else thinks it’s transphobic to state sex is real, then it is.
Unfortunately for the left-wing progressives, truth is truth, not their truth, not my truth, or perceived truth. It’s just truth.
This is utterly brilliant. A student accuses @jk_rowling of being transphobic. This teacher skilfully dissects the claim and challenges it by asking questions.
He teaches not what to think, but how to think critically.
The student tries one more time to provide another example of Ms. Rowling’s transphobia, providing what he called an “apology” from 2020.
Ms. Rowling wrote:
“I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.”
I respect every trans person’s right to live any way that feels authentic and comfortable to them. I’d march with you if you were discriminated against on the basis of being trans. At the same time, my life has been shaped by being female. I do not believe it’s hateful to say so.
Mr. Smith provides his analysis of this tweet, explaining that J.K. Rowling is trying to say with this tweet that it’s OK to live your life as you wish. Still, it’s also OK to live her life as she wishes; freedom to be transgender does not equate to extinguishing her liberty to state the reality of sex.
To which the student admits:
“I feel like an idiot now.”
The student continues to admit freely to his credit:
“Until today I haven’t really thought about it because I just believed, like, oh there’s five people saying it, it must be correct.”
And that, ladies and gentlemen, sums up the dismal state of our education system and culture.
Higher education should teach critical thought in all aspects of study. Unfortunately, this particular case study, courtesy of Warren Smith and his students, illustrates this is not the state of affairs.
Mr. Smith tells the student:
“The whole point is to learn how to think, not what to think.”
Unfortunately, that isn’t the reality of higher education and not at all the goal of the progressive left that has control over institutions of higher learning and our culture. The goal is to indoctrinate society to think the way they want us to think. That has always been the purpose of government education.
Exercising our freedom to question what we are told and what we see is viewed as a threat to their power. Controlling our thoughts and silencing those who don’t fall in line with the approved “groupthink” is the strategy of the left and our society’s elite class.
While I think Warren Smith’s lesson on critical thinking for this student was brilliant, I would’ve liked it if he had explored if the student knew what instigated J.K. Rowling’s first tweet he used as “evidence” of “extreme transphobia.” For those who care (and all of us should because context matters), the tweet was in response to researcher Maya Forstater losing her job at a think tank for tweeting criticisms about gender ideology.
Of note, Ms. Forstater won her court case after a long legal battle. Ms. Forstater said of her win:
“My case has exposed institutionalized discrimination against, and the routine abuse and smearing of, people with perfectly ordinary beliefs about the material reality of sex.”
Indeed, her case and this particular student’s ignorance both expose institutionalized discrimination against people with ordinary beliefs about sex. Until society stops drinking the group-think Kool-Aid, people like Ms. Forstater, Ms. Rowling, and countless others will continue to be falsely labeled as bigots.
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USAF Retired, Bronze Star recipient, outspoken veteran advocate. Hot mess mom to two monsters and wife to equal parts… More about Kathleen J. Anderson
J.K. Rowling‘s Fantastic Beasts franchise is officially on ice. During the podcast Inside Total Film, franchise director David Yates said that the Harry Potter spin-off has been “parked” for the time being.
Yates has directed every film set in the Harry Potter universe since 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. On the podcast, Yates sang the praised the most recent offering in the three-film franchise—2022’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore—but confirmed that there are no current plans to move forward with the series. “We’re all so proud of [The Secrets of Dumbledore], and when it went out into the world, we just needed to sort of stop and pause and take it easy,” he said.
Filming Fantastic Beasts 3 was particularly difficult due to the pandemic, said Yates. And now, the series is taking an indefinite hiatus. “With Beasts, it’s all just parked,” he said. “We made those three movies, we made the last one through a pandemic, and it was enormous fun, but it was tough. We were actually filming when there wasn’t a vaccine. Thank goodness no one got sick, but we did have the most detailed protocols in place.”
The franchise has suffered bad reviews and controversy due, in part, to two of its stars: Johnny Depp and Ezra Miller. Depp, who played Grindelwald in the first two Fantastic Beast films, was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in the third film after he was publicly accused by ex-wife Amber Heard of domestic abuse. (Depp has denied the claims, and won a defamation case against Heard in December 2022.) Miller, who starred in all three films as Aurelius Dumbledore, was arrested multiple times in 2022 and pled guilty to unlawful trespassing. (Miller has since sought treatment for “complex mental health issues.”) On top of that, Harry Potter scribe Rowling, who wrote the first two Fantastic Beasts films and has a co-writing credit on the third, has been widely criticized for her transphobic remarks.
According to Yates, Rowling wanted the franchise to have five films, an idea he was never totally on board with. “The idea that there were going to be five [Fantastic Beasts] films was a total surprise to most of us,” the director said. “Jo just mentioned it spontaneously, at a press screening once. We were presenting some clips of FB1 [Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]. We’d all signed up for FB1, very enthusiastically. And Jo, bless her, came on … and Jo said, ‘Oh, by the way, there’s five of them.’ And we all looked at each other because no one had told us there were going to be five. We’d sort of committed to this one. So that was the first we’d heard of it.”
Yates said he hasn’t spoken with Rowling, franchise producer David Heyman, or Warner Bros about the franchise recently. “We’re just taking a pause,” he said. “And it’s quite nice.” But while there are no immediate plans to return to the franchise, Yates is cautiously optimistic that there will be more Fantastic Beasts films in the future. “I’m sure at some point we may well be back,” he said. “Who can tell?”
While Fantastic Beasts may be on pause, the Harry Potter cinematic universe is still expanding. Warner Bros. discovery confirmed in September that a Max Original television series based on all seven Harry Potter books written by Rowling is coming to the streaming platform in the coming years. “This new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years,” said HBO and Max head honcho Casey Bloys. The television series is expected to hit the streaming platform in 2025 or 2026, and will allegedly run for “ten consecutive years.” So, while Fantastic Beasts may be no more, there’s plenty of Harry Potter content in store in the not too distant future.
J.K. Rowling is stirring up controversy again regarding the LGBTQ+ community.
The globally acclaimed author recently retweeted a tweet demanding the removal of the ‘TQ’ from the ‘LGBTQ+’ community flag, the rainbow flag with an arrowhead stemming from the left.
The arrowhead arches are pink and blue, which represent transgender people, and brown and black, which represent LGBTQ+ people of colour and people who’ve contracted HIV/AIDs.
In the politically charged tweet that Rowling shared on her account, an activist shared an image of the flag with the triangular arches blurred out, representing the removal of their representation from the LGBTQ+ flag.
“The colours of the arrowhead in the Progress Pride Flag represent trans people, people of marginalised races, and the victims of AIDS and HIV,” explained another commentator online. “JK Rowling has retweeted a post that describes trans people, people of marginalised races, and the victims of AIDS and HIV as ‘sh*t’.”
The colours of the arrow head in the Progress Pride Flag represent trans people, people of marginalised races, and the victims of AIDS and HIV.
JK Rowling has retweeted a post that describes trans people, people of marginalised races, and the victims of AIDS and HIV as “shit”. pic.twitter.com/fyoZ5rhx0h
— Bad Writing Takes 🖊️🏳️🌈 (@BadWritingTakes) March 25, 2023
Hogwarts Legacy – the new open-world video game by Avalanche and Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, will be released Friday, to much anticipation.
The single-player game has been five years in the making — experts put its budget at $150 million. The game already broke a record on Twitch for being the most-watched single-player game, played by streamers who got the game early. And it’s the No. 1 pre-sale this week on gaming platform Steam.
“Open world style games are a really a big deal in the games industry,” said Joost van Dreunen, an adjunct professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business who was formerly CEO of games market research firm Super Data Research. “The expectations are quite high not just from the consumers, but also from the game makers themselves.”
Warner Bros. has had 20 years of experience putting out Harry Potter video games — but those were based on the movies. Not every game was a blockbuster hit, despite the fandom around the Harry Potter franchise.
Hogwarts Legacy is based on Harry Potter but is set in the late 1800s, well before the action in the Harry Potter books take place, and opens the Harry Potter World beyond Hogwarts Castle. Players are witch or wizard avatars that complete missions to gain skills such as flying on a broom.
“They definitely put out some big titles and worked with some big franchises, but their games have been hit and miss,” Dan Martin, general manager at videogamesnewyork says of the Warner Bros. games.
The game’s release has been delayed twice — building excitement from Potter fans but then fizzling. Videogamesnewyork, a New York City store that sells modern and retro video games, is ordering just enough games to their store based on pre-orders.
“We’re not over-ordering or under ordering. Only because we don’t know what to expect,” said Martin.
Part of the game’s expectation is based on controversy surrounding Harry Potter’s creator — J.K. Rowling. The author has repeatedly made anti-trans comments, and some of the movies’ actors have spoken out against them. Some gamers also are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy over the controversy.
“It’s not a commercial risk so much as is a cultural one,” van Dreunen said of the game’s release.
The game features a trans character, a first for the franchise. Though the Hogwarts Legacy character Sirona Ryan does not explicitly say she is trans, dialogue in a scene suggests it: “[It] took them a second to realize I was actually a witch, not a wizard,” the character said.
Warner Bros. Discovery said creating diverse characters was a high priority in order to encompass all people who play the games including the LGBTQIA+ community.
The company says J.K. Rowling is not involved in the Hogwarts Legacy game. But she does stand to make licensing royalties. Some fans have been turned off to the franchise because of Rowling’s comments, others say they won’t let that get in the way of experiencing a new world of Harry Potter.
“There was a time when I thought it was going to impact my view on the whole Harry Potter world, but I am able to separate the situation with JK Rowling with the Harry Potter world,” said Camila Rodrigues, a Harry Potter fan who says she plans to buy the game.
Despite the controversy, gaming experts anticipate a blockbuster release — easily selling 10 million copies, according to some estimates. In some ways, the game is a re-branding opportunity for the franchise.
“It perhaps has room to develop something new, to iterate on the existing relationship with its fan base,” said van Dreunen. “Perhaps making it into this big production video game allows the franchise to kind of save itself a little bit from the drag it’s been experiencing culturally.”
Stars from the “Harry Potter” universe are paying tribute to Hogwart’s resident gentle half-giant, Robbie Coltrane, who died on Friday.
In a statement provided to CNN by a representative, Daniel Radcliffe called Coltrane, 72 – who played Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” film franchise – “one of the funniest people I’ve met” and recalled how the actor “used to keep us laughing constantly as kids on the set.”
“I’ve especially fond memories of him keeping our spirits up on ‘Prisoner of Azkaban,’ when we were all hiding from the torrential rain for hours in Hagrid’s hut and he was telling stories and cracking jokes to keep morale up,” Radcliffe said, making reference to the third film. “I feel incredibly lucky that I got to meet and work with him and very sad that he’s passed. He was an incredible actor and a lovely man.”
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the franchise, also honored her late costar on Friday in an Instagram Story.
“Robbie was the most fun uncle I’ve ever had,” she wrote, underneath a photo of the pair. “His talent was so immense it made sense he played a giant – he could fill ANY space with his brilliance,” she later added. “Robbie, if I ever get to be so kind as you were to me on a film set I promise I’ll do it in your name and memory,” Watson continued, going on to say how Coltrane “made us a family.”
Tom Felton, who famously portrayed Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” movies, also posted to Instagram in honor of Coltrane, writing on Friday, “One of my fondest memories of filming Harry Potter was a night shoot on the first film in the forbidden forest. I was 12. Robbie cared & looked after everyone around of him. Effortlessly. And made them laugh. Effortlessly. He was a big friendly giant on screen but even more so In real life.”
Coltrane, too, shared fond memories of working with the film’s young stars in a recent HBO Max special, “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.” (CNN and HBO are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
“Watching them grow up was kind of like watching your own kids growing up, you know? Because you were sort of protecting them,” he said. “I was always astonished at how fearless they were.”
“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling wrote on Twitter: “I’ll never know anyone remotely like Robbie again. He was an incredible talent, a complete one off, and I was beyond fortunate to know him, work with him and laugh my head off with him. I send my love and deepest condolences to his family, above all his children.”
And Warwick Davis, who played Professor Filius Flitwick and the goblin Griphook in the films, remembered Coltrane as someone who was “always jovial” and “brought warmth, light and laughter to any set he walked on to.”
