The Harry Potter franchise was pitched into an uproar last week with the announcement of an all-new audiobook series with a full cast, including many A-list actors and lauded performers. It makes sense that the rights-holders would want to capitalize on fans’ bottomless love for the Wizarding World, with a new screen adaptation in the works and public good will for author J.K. Rowling drying up. However, full cast audiobooks are generally a risky venture, even when they’re narrating a beloved book. For proof, look no further than another recent fantasy novel brought to the screen — Dune by Frank Herbert.
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Even prolific audiobook listeners may not have had occasion to hear a full cast production before, which on its own may be taken as proof that this isn’t the best approach for the medium. However, in the last four years, many fantasy fans have gone back to check out Herbert’s Dune before or after it was adapted into a movie by Denis Villeneuve. Those that did so likely found the 2007 Macmillan Audio production, with a different actor cast for each major character in the story.
On paper, a full cast may sound like a major upgrade for an audiobook, but a quick glance at reviews online shows a different story. Changing narrators is often described as “jarring” by listeners, especially when voices are only used for character dialogue. This can be a problem in a book like Dune, where a lot is relayed through narration and soliloquies. It’s awkward to get two or three minutes of Lady Jessica’s thoughts in the voice of narrator Scott Brick, followed by a few seconds of dialogue in a completely different voice.
It may turn out to be a poor fit for Harry Potter too, but for a very different reason. While that series is written in the third-person, it uses a very limited perspective, restricting the reader’s knowledge and insight to that of Harry himself. That means narrator Cush Jumbo will describe each character’s actions as Harry sees them, but a different voice will step in to read the actual dialogue. Even Harry will be voiced by a different actor, Jaxon Knopf, distancing the character from the point of view he should be sharing with the reader. It creates a sense of discontinuity in the story, and it winds up feeling surprisingly unnatural for many readers.
It’s worth noting that there are some listeners who do enjoy full cast audiobooks, and many who are openly excited for this remake. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying this version, but the overwhelming trend on audiobook reviews and fan forums indicates that most listeners don’t see this as an upgrade. Many think that a full cast should be reserved for stories that were specifically scripted as an audio drama or radio play. An audiobook is still fundamentally a book, and it should mimic the experience of someone reading aloud to you, not a performance by a massive ensemble.
The Wheel of Time Approach
There are other great ways of utilizing multiple narrators as well, such as partners Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, who narrate fantasy series like The Wheel of Time and The Stormlight Archive by trading chapters — Kramer reads those in the point of view of male characters, while Reading reads the female points of view. They end up voicing many of the same characters this way, but the distinction of chapter breaks and POV changes makes it much easier to follow than strict consistency would.
Speaking of The Wheel of Time, that series recently got a few new audiobooks to commemorate the release of the TV adaptation, which was sadly canceled this summer. Star and producer Rosamund Pike narrated new versions of the first four books in the series, but now that the TV show is over, it’s unclear if she will continue her take on the series. It’s just as unclear whether fans want her to — looking at reviews online, most fans praise these audiobooks as nice companions to the TV show and an excuse to re-listen to he story, but not a fitting replacement for Kramer and Reading’s take on the saga.
Whether it continues or not, Pike’s version of The Wheel of Time highlights another major issue for these kinds of promotional full cast audiobooks: the price. It costs quite a bit to get all these actors and voice actors together, especially if they’re expected to work together for consistency of tone and pronunciation. It also multiplies the work for audio engineers throughout the entire process, just for the final product to be a gamble. It will likely make money thanks to die-hard Potter fans, but there’s no telling if it will be popular.
Do We Need This Series?
Even if it is successful, this full cast audio edition can only eat into the potential sales of the other two audiobook editions of the Harry Potter series that already exist. By now, many Potter fans already have a preferred audiobook version of the series — some are even quite die-hard about their personal favorite. It seems greedy to throw a third version into the mix for a quick payday when so many other authors fight for a fraction of Rowling’s platform.
On that note, we have to wonder if the actors involved in this Potter remake are regretting their decision by now. Actress Michelle Gonzalez has already issued a public apology to fans for collaborating with Rowling after all the author has done to set back transgender rights, and Gonzalez has even donated some of her payment for this job to the LGBTQ+ charity Callen-Lorde. Critics pointed out that this gesture likely won’t even balance out the influx of cash that will come to Rowling, who will in turn use it to lobby against transgender rights.
There are plenty of easy-to-spot issues with a Harry Potter full cast audiobook in 2025, not least of all the dubious interest in full cast audiobooks in the first place. For those interested, the new series is available for pre-order now and the first installment debuts in November. You can also access the previous audiobook versions of the Harry Potter series for free through your local library, along with Dune, The Wheel of Time, and many other great listens.
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Image courtesy of HBO
