Harry Potter Fans Think One Installment Is So Bad It Shouldn’t Be Canon (& They’re Right)

Harry Potter fans have been desperate for new content for years, but they’re not willing to accept just anything waving a wand into the canon. As the Harry Potter TV series reboot looms and the franchise comes back to prominence, fans are discussing one of its most controversial stories: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The stage play is not regarded as canonical by many fans, and surprisingly, few are enthusiastic about seeing it adapted for the screen. The main reason is that it violates many well-established rules and limitations of magic within the Wizarding World, and it doesn’t add much to the story along the way.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a stage play written by Jack Thorne based on an original story devised by Thorne, John Tiffany, and author J.K. Rowling. Rowling, at least, seems to consider it canon based on her commentary, but some fans strongly disagree. A post on the main Harry Potter subreddit this week tackled this topic in great detail, cataloging all the ways the play breaks canon. Read on for the full details, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead.

The play picks up right where the final novel left off in an epilogue set 19 years after the events of the main series. It follow Harry’s second son, Albus Severus Potter, as he begins his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is sorted into Slytherin, causing tension between him and his father, and inspiring Albus to rebel in the years that follow.

Read Next

7 Harry Potter Characters That Were Recast in the Movies (And You Never Noticed)

The issues begin with the introduction of a new magical tool — a prototype for a more powerful Time-Turner. In the third novel, the device allowed users to travel back in time, but never to alter history. This new prototype is not so limited, and is actually able to cahnge history. Amos Diggory asks Harry to use it to prevent his son Cedric’s death. Harry refuses because there’s no telling how it would impact the world, but Albus overhears decides to steal the Time-Turner and fulfil Amos’ wish in secret, alongside his friend Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus and Scorpius change the events of the fourth novel to try and keep Cedric alive, returning each time to a changed version of their own time. Their actions lead to a future where Voldemort was victorious in taking over the entire Wizarding World. They and their parents make several more trips through time trying to set the continuity right.

Harry Potter Fans’ Takes On Magical Time Travel

The time-traveling is the primary reason fans reject this story — it flies in the face of the original logic surrounding Time-Turners. Many commenters point out that Rowling dropped Time-Turners from the novels shortly after introducing them because of all the complications they could cause, so it’s odd to see her return to them here. The logic behind the changes to history is strained as well, and fans find it unsatisfying even if they try to suspend their disbelief.

On top of that, there are revelations in the play that fans strongly dislike, including the introduction of Voldemort’s daughter, Delphi. The play reveals that he secretly conceived a child with Bellatrix LeStrange, and she is the antagonist of the play. Some fans disliked the way this reframed the relationship between Voldemort and Bellatrix in the main series, and considered it a forced addition.

While many fans may not consider Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to be canon, Rowling clearly does, as does Warner Bros. Entertainment. The studio has purchased the film rights to the play, but discussions of adapting it to the screen have been hypothetical at best. For now, it exists only as a play, which can be consumed either in published form or at the theater.