Remember 2011? The Harry Potter franchise came to an end after a decade of films set in the iconic Wizarding World.
How times have changed. J.K. Rowling is scorched earth in the eyes of all Harry Potter fans. Daniel Radcliffe has become Weird Al Yankovic. And streaming television demands that Harry Potter get rebooted for the masses. But still, there is something special — and honestly nostalgic — for fans who have been there since the beginning.
From the moment young Radcliffe picked up Harry’s 11” holly wand with a Phoenix feather core, audiences fell in love. We grew up with the tenacious little wizard as he made friends, taunted enemies, and defeated the darkest wizard of all time. Just normal high school things. The Boy Who Lived’s journey was definitive for a generation, and fans can’t help but want to revisit all 8 Harry Potter films time after time.
The Harry Potter movies, in order
In the world of magical high schools, Harry Potter was the template for a long time. Each book follows one year in the life of our young wizard as he goes to Hogwarts and inevitably has to fight off Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). Since no adults have any interest in doing it, it must fall on the shoulders of an 11-year-old boy.
Harry’s schooling takes place over the course of seven school years, so there are naturally seven books. However, the film adaptations took a different tactic. While the first books were relatively easy to adapt, the later entries in Harry’s journey varied in length. The final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, required being split into two movies. Thus, eight films arose out of the Harry Potter movie franchise and are as follows:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Are there other movies in the Harry Potter universe?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has a decisive end with the same epilogue that appears in the book. 19 years after Harry defeats Voldemort, he takes his son, Albus Severus Potter (ugh), to Kings Cross Station with his other children. Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) accompany them, taking their children to the train to Hogwarts, as well. This scene concludes Harry’s story in a suburban paradise.
But Warner Bros. is no fool and understands that the Harry Potter brand is a cash cow. The production company went on to adapt 3 more movies in the universe, whether we wanted them or not. Eddie Redmayne stars in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them as magical zoologist, Newt Scamander. The subsequent films trace the origins of Dumbledore and Grindewald’s conflict, for some reason. That first film, however, remains magical because of Newt’s earnest devotion to his fantastic beasts.
Since the 3rd film, The Secrets of Dumbledore, did dismally at the box office, it appears the franchise will not finish as intended. But if you still desire more Potter, a Max reboot is imminent, rehashing the story we all know and love.
