A Voldemort Prequel May Actually Happen

It's a potentially big day for Potterheads everywhere, because a Harry Potter Voldemort prequel might actually happen. While there's no doubt going to be some buzz given the nature of this film news, you should probably take this with a grain of salt. It may be blessed by the studio that created Harry Potter, but they're not the ones making it. In fact, you might consider this prequel more of a fan-fiction story come to life; it's exciting news, to be fair, but it's going to come with some drawbacks.

According to Marie Claire, Warner Bros. Studios reportedly gave its blessing to a fan-made Harry Potter Voldemort spinoff after seeing a fan-made trailer from startup studio Tryangle Films. The studio set up a Kickstarter earlier in the year for their film Voldemort: Origins of the Heir. To further build the intrigue, the studio created a trailer, which imaginably got tongues wagging, Potterheads intrigued, and the general public very interested.

However, there are some tricky gray areas involved that make this Voldemort prequel not exactly Harry Potter canon, and thus, should make us adjust our expectation of what this film could actually look like if and when it gets made.

Presumably, because of the fact that Warner Bros. nor J.K. Rowling will be involved in the film, the team around Voldemort: Origins of the Heir will have to take extra care not to utilize Harry Potter material that could be seen as copyright infringement. This is yet another reason to keep the excitement at bay. This aura of small scale production should keep expectations realistic, too: things like a wide theatrical release, widespread marketing, and, yes, even references to the Harry Potter films will most likely be minimal.

That's not a knock on Tryangle Films or Voldemort: Origins of the Heir, mind you. It just means that they may have to follow the production of this fan-made film very closely, so you know when and where you can watch it because it won't have the boost of a big studio behind it.

Let's look on the bright side, though. A blessing from Warner Bros. certainly goes a long way when you're trying to make a film about Harry Potter in any capacity; that Tryangle Films has secured that green light is a major coup. Voldemort: Origins of the Heir director Gianmaria Pezzato said of the Warner Bros. blessing that "[w]e had a private and confidential discussion with Warner Bros. who contacted us during the period of the crowdfunding campaign. The only thing we can say is that they let us proceed with the film, in a non-profit way, obviously."

It's clear from the trailer and from the snippets of excitement on Twitter that Voldemort: Origins of the Heir will be a fun new take on the Voldemort history that will be steeped in Harry Potter lore. What's not to love?

Small-scale or not, officially Harry Potter or not, Voldemort: Origins of the Heir sounds fun as hell and there's no reason that I know of that you shouldn't feel the smallest bit of excitement about it.