Prequels not Sequels for Harry Potter

No more sequels, please. 


Joanne Katherine (J.K.) Rowling hinted she could write a sequel for Harry Potter. But she ended the series very well, I could not think of a better ending than what’s already written in the pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And despite being a witness and an aficionado of the author’s genius, I don’t think that even Rowling is immune to the common pitfalls of commercialization—sequels.

J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series

I’m not saying I won’t read the sequels if she did write them, because I probably will. I know that I will have a copy reserved and be at the bookstore on the day of its release at the store’s opening hour. This is to say that Rowling’s writing prowess might shine brighter than media’s flashing lights of criticism. But I still think that sequels are a bad idea.

Why?

Those who have read seven books of Harry Potter would know the superb intensity and magnificent execution of Rowling’s storytelling in the seventh book. She effectively tailored the loose ends of the earlier instalments, every bit of foreshadowing, twists and turnouts unveiled in the first six books were cited or expounded in the seventh. The significance of Albus Dumbledore’s wisdom can be fully felt without reticence. Moreover, you can feel closure in the side stories.

The seven Harry Potter books

And writing a sequel could mean burning a hole for the sake of a plot, or building a new plot atop a closed book, which means loosening knitted ends. This act threatens to reduce an excellent contemporary classic to a mediocre series.

Though a story’s success may also mean its downfall, we can’t deny that fanatics still crave for more. As an author, the craving might be stronger with the knowledge that it is within her grasp to extend Potter’s life (the series). Or maybe, she can’t stand the idea that famished Potter fans gratify their appetite by rereading or re-watching Harry Potter’s previous adventures.

But George Lucas had the solution.

Star Wars was a trilogy before it was a saga; the original trilogy is etched in film history. Its vast fame has trickled from a thrilling ride in the cinemas to Happy Meal toys in McDonalds. Star Wars’ fame is far more difficult to extinguish with the latest trends in film technology.

Star Wars main characters. From the left, Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea and Han Solo

Maybe Lucas was thinking, what if I remake Star Wars? What if I had these special effects available before? Then Star Wars would’ve been better equipped visually, but would it work? I bet Lucas knew that it was difficult to create a new antagonist in the series that will challenge Luke Skywalker.

The thing is, if you kill the antagonist that fans loathe (big time), and then create a new one, who is usually stronger, it won’t produce the same feeling. One can owe this to the idea that Dark Lords endlessly emerge and even if the new Dark Lord eventually meets his death, the readers would have a foreboding that their hero’s life will be forever challenged despite closing the book’s back cover.

So Lucas turned to prequels. And it made Star Wars phenomenal, more phenomenal than it already was. But the original trilogy maintains its lordship over the prequels, which is not a bad thing. Sure the prequels endured great media attention and further popularized the Star Wars Saga, but when a friend cites Star Wars, you’ll probably hear Darth Vader and not Darth Mole, the famous line, “Luke, I am your father”, and Vader’s breathing sound which are all in the original trilogy.

Prequels might further immortalize Harry Potter.

That’s why I think Rowling should write prequels, because I know, with her genius, it will have a story of its own without losing Harry Potter’s magic touch. It may not be an adventure with the characters we’ve grown up with, but it would still be in the world we came to know.

My idea of prequels would include Voldemort’s rise to power, the creation and the battles of the original Order of the Phoenix, and the First Wizarding War. I know that there’s an online fanfic (fan fiction) about James Potter, but if Rowling gets her backstories published, it would be a fanatic turmoil not exclusive to Potter's father.

She could even do a spinoff, she could have “Hogwarts, A History by Bathilda Bagshot” published, which would contain the story of the four great founders of Hogwarts. It would be like Harry Potter all over again, you’ve got Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin as main characters. This is much like what she did with Tales of Beedle the Bard, a wizarding fairytale book.

I admit, like everyone else, I long for more Harry Potter. Though splitting the last book into two movies is a blaring statement of milking the Potter franchise, I honestly don’t care because I don’t want the Potter experience to end, at least in the films, yet. But the seventh is the seventh; it’s too well-crafted that writing on top of it would be like driving a Basilisk fang through its pages.


Still, we’re talking about Rowling here, if she does write a sequel, count me in. More so if it’s a prequel. In the end, as long as she writes something, be it related to Harry Potter or not, I’d be at the bookstore, reserving a copy.