TheHarry Potterteaser trailer for the Max streaming service used the original film franchise’s logo and John Williams' iconic theme. However, a Warner Bros. Discovery executive indicated that fans shouldn’t read too much into their use for the promo.
Warner Bros. Discovery officially confirmed aHarry Potterreboot was moving forward during a presentation primarily to promote the forthcoming Max streaming service. TheHarry PotterTV seriesis being touted as a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books with an entirely new cast. However, the short promo used the logo and score from the movies, prompting criticism from some people and confusion from others.
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During an interview withVariety, Pato Spagnoletto (Global chief marketing officer of direct-to-consumer at Warner Bros. Discovery) was asked if theHarry Pottermovie musicand logo’s inclusion in the promo mean Max intends to keep those elements in the TV series. “We are so excited to have that franchise come back. It’s really entertained so many of us in the last 20 years. It’s so early on, honestly, that I don’t want to mislead you one way or the other,” Spagnoletto said in response. “We are just starting on the journey of what the content will look like, how it will be produced and shot. And obviously, the marketing point is intended to reflect the actual content.”
In case that wasn’t clear, Spagnoletto continued by sayingtheHarry Pottermusic cuesand logo’s use in the promo does not mean the material will be used for the TV series. “So what we showed on the screen was just an illustration of the history and the richness of that, and is not necessarily an illustration of what we plan to market and how we plan to market the new content,” Spagnoletto said. In other words, it sounds like the original music and logo were used because it’s so early in the process that new material for theHarry Potterreboot hasn’t been produced yet, so Warner Bros. Discovery turned to the only content they had to promote the TV series.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s use of theHarry Pottermovie music and logo is understandable when considering the lack of other material to use to generate hype for the project. Of course, fans can be forgiven for being cynical about theHarry Potterreboot when it touts to be a new adaptation despite relying on the movies to draw attention. On the other hand, it’s not unheard of for reboots to retain elements of a franchise’s past.The James Bond franchiseuses the same theme despite being rebooted when Daniel Craig took the role. Plus, several Superman projects have incorporated Williams' emblematic theme despite having no connection to the Christopher Reeve movies.
So, willHarry Potterbe another franchise that uses the same iconic score for different adaptations of the material? Fans must wait and see, but it doesn’t seem like that’s necessarily the plan.
