The Harry Potter saga came to an end (on the big screen, at least) back in 2011, and in the years since, fans have been understandably eager for anything and everything they could get their hands on in regards to the Boy Who Lived and the Wizarding world he inhabited. Unfortunately for them, however, there hasn’t been very much.
Aside from a stage play and some supplementary books, the franchise has gone mostly quiet – which is quite surprising actually, given how lucrative it is. There is Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, of course, but that series takes place long before Harry was born and for the most part, features brand new characters.
So, with Mr. Potter himself seemingly being left on the shelf for now, it’s up to fans to create their own content, and that’s exactly the reason why Voldemort: Origins of the Heir has come into existence. Headed up by Tryangle Films, the fan-made pic dives into the backstory of the titular and iconic villain before he turned evil. Admittedly, it’s a great idea and one that, quite frankly, Warner Bros. has been foolish not to explore themselves.
In fact, the studio even tried to block this project from getting made, until eventually realizing that it was a story that needed to be told, giving Tryangle the green light to move forward with its crowdfunding plans. Now, the non-profit movie has been released in full and is on the web for all to view, allowing Potterheads to chart the course of one Tom Marvolo Riddle, as he becomes the dark and evil wizard we all know him as today.
Though it doesn’t have anywhere near the budget that the Harry Potter films had, Origins of the Heir actually looks quite impressive, with some great effects work and polished production design throughout that wouldn’t feel too out of place on the big screen. It may be a bit on the short side, coming in at under an hour, but given that it’s being released for free, I don’t think too many people will complain.
As far as the plot goes, as mentioned above, the film explores the origins of the famous villain, though seems to be told through the eyes of a new character: a witch named Grisha Mac Laggen (heir to Gryffindor), “who suspects trouble when Hepzibah Smith (descendant of the ancient Hufflepuff family) was found murdered in her residence. The case goes cold, but Laggen feels that there’s something wrong, and she believes that Tom Marvolo Riddle is involved somehow.”
“We wondered, ‘What made Tom Riddle become Voldemort? What happened in those years, and what really went down at Hogwarts when he came back?’”director Gianmaria Pezzato said. “There are some clues in the books which have not been transposed at all in the movies, but a lot goes unspoken. This is the story we want to tell: The rise of the Dark Lord before Harry Potter and his first demise.”
Voldemort: The Origins of the Heir is now available to stream and can be viewed via the embed above. Be sure to give it a watch and once you’re done, let us know what you make of it in the comments section down below.
