io9Books & Comics

This New Harry Potter Chapter, Written With Predictive Keyboards, Is Magically Unhinged

By now, millions of readers across the world are familiar with the tone and voice J.K. Rowling used to approach the main Harry Potter novels, which makes the experience of reading Botnik’s take on the series that much more unnerving. It sounds like Rowling’s writing voice, but it reads like the ravings of a mad … Continued

io9Movies

J.K. Rowling Finally Addresses Johnny Depp’s Fantastic Beasts Casting and It’s Massively Disappointing

The Fantastic Beasts franchise has had its own beast to contend with, after the controversial decision to keep Johnny Depp as the series’ antagonist after allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard. A few weeks ago, director David Yates decided victim-blaming was his way to respond to the issue; now Harry Potter … Continued

io9Books & Comics

The 20th Anniversary Editions of Harry Potter Accidentally Added Fake Potter News

In 2017, fake news is everywhere. It’s on your Twitter feed, on your television, it’s flung out of the Trump administration like confetti. But I’m sorry to report, readers, that fake news has wormed its way into another beloved institution: the latest printing of Harry Potter. New editions of J.K. Rowling’s beloved books—emblazoned with the … Continued

io9

Fantastic Beasts 2 Has a New Name and a First Look at the Cast

Fantastic Beasts 2 is no longer Fantastic Beasts 2—it’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and now we have our first look at some of the cast, including Jude Law in action as the young Albus Dumbledore himself! The photo actually gives us a bunch of new characters alongside Law’s Dumbledore and Johnny Depp’s villain … Continued

io9Movies

Jason Isaacs Originally Didn’t Want to Play Lucius Malfoy

Hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy now to say, “Of course an actor should be in a Harry Potter movie” after eight films and billions of dollars. But in the moment, almost two decades ago, there must have been actors who passed. In fact, one big name that’s in the films almost did just that. In … Continued

io9Books & Comics

You Can Own the Luxurious House Where Voldemort Killed Harry Potter’s Parents

For the cool price of $1.3 million, you can own the the charming cottage just outside London where Voldemort killed James and Lilly Potter. Imagine all of the enthralling stories you could tell guests when they came over for dinner. The De Vere House that appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One … Continued

io9Movies

The Creator of the Sorcerer’s Stone Is Joining Fantastic Beasts 2

Hardcore Harry Potter fans, prepare to geek out a bit. Production is now underway on the second film in the Fantastic Beasts series, and we’ve just learned that Nicolas Flamel, the creator of the Sorcerer’s (or Philosopher’s) Stone, will play a role in the sequel. Actor Brontis Jodorowsky will play the legendary alchemist. He was … Continued

io9Movies

Finally, the Chance to Slather Your Lounge With Harry Potter Paraphernalia 

I mean, I’m sure there are other rooms you could slather with Pottery Barn’s five-years-too-late collection of Harry Potter items. But one of their suggested room ideas is for a Gryffindor cushy lounge, so obviously that’s all we can think about now. Like its absurd Star Wars collection before it, Pottery Barn’s latest collection is … Continued

io9

Harry Potter’s Kid Is Enrolling in Hogwarts Today

The start of September is the traditional period of going back to school, whether you’re an actual student or a fictional wizard, but today—September 1st, 2017—holds a very particular place in the hearts of Harry Potter fans: It’s the day the “19 years later” epilogue of The Deathly Hallows is set. In the years since … Continued

io9

Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature’s Top 10 Sidekicks

Sidekicks. Always there to lend a helping hand, or sword, or wand, as the case may be. A hero is nothing without his or her sidekick, but these companions rarely get the recognition they deserve. A few second bananas may get the spotlight on occasion—your Robins, your Chewbaccas, your Igors—but they all originated in comics, … Continued

io9

Man Discovers He’s Accidentally Reading Harry Potter Fan Fic Instead of Order of the Phoenix

Even though it’s been nearly 10 years since the last Harry Potter book was published, there are still people who’re discovering the story about The Boy Who Lived every single day. Take this fellow, for example, who was shocked to discover that he’d been mistakenly reading Potter fan fiction instead of J.K. Rowling. In a … Continued

io9

I Would Totally Read the Harry Potter Fan Fiction Written by a Neural Network

Is there nothing neural networks can’t do? And while the paint colors, metal bands, recipes, and so on were fun, a computer’s attempt to learn about fanfic and reproduce its summaries has filled me with a joy greater than anything else on Earth. Janelle Shane—a PhD student who has turned this sort of thing into … Continued

io9Movies

This Is My Harry Potter Gateway Story, What’s Yours?

Twenty years ago today, a book was published that changed many of our lives forever. That book was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, later renamed Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S. It was our first taste of a wondrous world of witchcraft and wizardry that has inspired billions around the world. Here’s how that happened … Continued

io9Books & Comics

How Hogwarts Crushed All Other Fantasy Schools Under Its Heel

Harry Potter turns 20 today. (Technically, because of how the publishing world works, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone turns 20 next year, on September 1, when the US version came out.) Pottermania is so well-entrenched that all you need to see is a red and gold scarf to instantly know a lot about the … Continued

io9Movies

Harry Potter Is Technically the Second Wizard in His Family With That Name

If you were wondering how Harry Potter got his name, then J.K. Rowling has finally given an answer. She’s also explained how it was that there were no wizarding grandparents to take in Harry after his parents died. Rowling has explained a lot about the whole family tree over on Pottermore, including where the family’s … Continued

io9

The New Wizarding World of Harry Potter Light Show at Universal Studios Looks Spectacular

Walt Disney World has finally opened its Pandora—The World of Avatar attraction in Florida, so Universal Studios is doing what it can to keep tourists flocking to its theme parks. This past weekend Universal Studios Hollywood revealed an amazing nighttime light show at its Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but you don’t need to fly … Continued

io9

Teaser Trailer Released for Unbelievably Cool Voldemort Fan Film

J.K. Rowling may be busy working on the second film in her Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy, but one fan film is getting reading to tell us a much cooler story: How He Who Shall Not Be Named became, well, He Who Shall Not Be Named. Tryangle Films has released the debut … Continued

io9Movies

The Wizarding World Theme Park Is the Best Harry Potter Anything Since the Books

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is obnoxiously overpriced, small, and pretty gimmicky. And yet it is a much better experience for a Harry Potter fan than Fantastic Beasts, Cursed Child, or any of J.K. Rowling’s endless Pottermore essays. It’s been hard to recapture—or even remember—what it was that made me love Harry Potter in … Continued

io9

UnReal Estate Brings Popular Culture Locations to Life Through Art

The places that characters frequent in movies or TV often become characters themselves. Homes, hideouts, workplaces, these locations can often be as important to your love of something as the fictional people who dwell in them. Which is why, in 2012, Austin artist Tim Doyle started a series called UnReal Estate. He drew and printed … Continued

io9

Rare Harry Potter Prequel Stolen, J.K. Rowling Pleads for Return

A one-of-a-kind Harry Potter prequel has been stolen, and author J.K. Rowling is eager to get it back in the right hands. Local police in Birmingham, England, are asking for the public’s help after a burglary resulted in the theft of a rare Harry Potter prequel. The story was penned on a postcard by Rowling … Continued