When it comes to defining franchises of the 21st century,Harry Pottercertainly stands tall as one of the biggest. While the book series started in the late ’90s, with the dual release of the fourth book,Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firein 2000, and the filmHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stonein 2001, the franchise was a worldwide phenomenon. It got an entire generation of kids into reading and was a franchise that captured the hearts and minds of fans of all ages.
The books have sold more than 600 million copies worldwide, andthe eight movies in the franchise total $7.7 billion worldwide. In 2011, it seemed the franchise had finally come to a close with the release ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2, the adaptation of the final book from 2007.
Yet, likeStar Warsbefore it, the end wasn’t really the end because the franchise was just too profitable. On the movie side, the series continued with theFantastic Beastsmovies,prequel spin-off stories that did not fare as well as some might have hoped. The story of Harry, Ron, and Hermione continues on the stage withHarry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The play is written by Jack Thorne from an original story written by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne and was set after the epilogue ofDeathly Hallows, nineteen years after the battle for Hogwarts. The show had its first preview in June 2016 before opening to the public on Aug 05, 2025, at the Palace Theater in London.
The show itself received acclaim for the technical wizardry on stage, but for many fans who saw it or read the official script publication on July 23, 2025, the story itself left a lot desired. Here are five valid reasons fans are not happy withHarry Potter and the Cursed Child.
5The Story Does a Disservice to Hermione’s Character
When the show premiered, many fans were upset with Harry Potter’s characterization, particularly in not being a very good or supportive father to his son, Albus Severus Potter, following his sorting into Slytherin, despite the epilogue showing he would accept him.
This development followed fans' disappointment with how an older Aang fromAvatar: The Last Airbenderwas characterized inThe Legend of Korraand right before fans would lose it over Luke Skywalker inStar Wars: The Last Jedi.
Yet it does make a certain amount of sense that Harry Potter, with no real strong parental guidance in his own life, would struggle with how to be a parent. It gave him a new level of dimensionality that showed he was not perfect. The same cannot be said forHermione Granger, whoThe Cursed Childbasically says if she never married Ron, she would be unhappy.
Sexist Storytelling Convention
InHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, Harry and Malfoy’s son become friends but accidentally change history after they mess with the time-turner where Voldemort takes over the Wizarding World and kills Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament. Hermoine and Ron never got together in this timeline, and because of this, she became bitter and a cruel Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.
The implication is that without marrying Ron, Hermonie would be a worse person. It’s an extremely problematic characterization that falls under the trope that a woman can only be happy with a man.This goes against everything fans knew about Herminoiein the original story and felt like a big step backward for the series' most prominent female character.
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4The Time Turner Breaks the Universe
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanintroduced the time turner, a piece ofmagic that allows for time travel. It was fun for the story, but the more fans thought about it, the more the reality of the franchise broke.
Luckily, it was never mentioned again, and the story itself even implied it was a rare piece of magic. It was a plot device that was good for one specific story and was best left alone.Harry Potter and the Cursed Childat first seems to offer an explanation of why magic was never used again, as they were all destroyed, and that felt good enough. Instead, the play decided to double down on the Time Turner and make it the central plot device.
The Trouble with Time Travel
Tampering with time is a major part ofThe Cursed Child, as it allows the story’s third act to take place in a reimagined alternate world where the original Harry Potter story played out differently. It’s a fun idea for sure, but it then raises the question of why time travel was never an option Voldemort or his followers ever considered in the original story.
The other big issue is that it feels like cheap fan service. Instead of forging forward with a new path and story, exploring the full ins and outs of the new timeline, it felt like the franchise was recycling elements from its past.
This can work for something likeAvengers: Endgame, which is the final entry in a story that acts as a goodbye to one era, but forThe Cursed Child, this was a chance for fans to revisit Harry Potter for the first time in years and instead of something new, it was something old made to look new.
3The Voldemort Kid Reveal Is the Worst Kind of Retcon
The big “twist” inHarry Potter and the Cursed Childis that of Delphi Diggory, who at first is believed to be related to the late Cedric Digory, is, in fact,the secret love child of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange.
If that reveal already sounds like something out of a soap opera, it basically is. It conjures the same terrible images that fans ofStar Warshad followingThe Rise of Skywalkerafter the reveal that she was Palpatine’s granddaughter, meaning he needed to have a kid and everything that would entail (which itself was retconned to be a clone, which doesn’t solve the problem).
Lack of Originality
Obviously, the reveal of Voldemort and Bellatrix siring a child during the events ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsis a blatant retcon that not only goes against both character’s prior depictions but also doesn’t mesh with the timeline or story that was previously told. It is a retcon to bring a connection of Voldemort back into the narrative, andjust like the Palpatine inThe Rise of Skywalker, it backfires by making the universe feel smaller.
Instead of creating a new wizard threat, a new dark wizard possibly inspired by Voldemort, it has to make Delphi an explicit child to enforce the special bloodline trope. Say what one will about theFantastic Beastsfilms, but at least they never revealed Grindelwald had any family ties to Voldemort; he was his own dark wizard and somethingThe Cursed Childshould have introduced.
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2Continues the Franchise History of Queerbaiting
TheHarry Potterfranchise has a complicated relationship with LGBTQ+ characters. J.K. Rowling’s revelation that Dumbledore was gay certainly made headlines and felt like a bold move, but this was revealed after the publication of the last book and not revealed in the story. Then, when it came time todeliver on that reveal in theFantastic Beastsmovies, they only hinted that the movie could play in theaters in countries with strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
While theHarry Potterfandom certainly had many same-sex ships during the original run, that was more of a projection on the fans and a more wishful hope that was never supported in the books.Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, however, seemed to embrace the shipping concept while also dismissing it.
Drarry Lives
The two main characters ofHarry Potter and the Cursed Childare Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley’s son, Albus Severus Potter, and Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass’s son, Scorpius Malfoy. Whereas Harry and Draco were sworn rivals during their years at Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius are best friends. Both are also unlike their fathers, with Albus being more of an outsider, while Scorpius is a kind, sweetheart kid.
In many ways, this felt like the franchise was giving a bone to the fandom that shipped (wanted a romantic relationship) of Harry and Draco that the fanbase called “Drarry”, just told through their sons. However, in the original version of the play, Scorpius is given a romantic interest, and the closeness the two boys feel for one another is designed to play on the audience’s expectations.
The one-part version of the play did rectify this as Albus and Scorpius’relationship is more explicitly romantic, with this development having since been made in the two-part version of the play. This is one mistake that has been corrected, but the fact that it was not from the beginning was a big part of why fans bounced off of it.
1J.K. Rowling Has Made It Hard to Enjoy Harry Potter
Easily the biggest thing working againstHarry Potter and the Cursed Childis not so much the play itself but the author, J.K. Rowling. For years J.K. Rowling was the idol to millions of children around the world as she was the author responsible for creating this beloved franchise that brought so much joy and love into people’s lives.
Yet, in recent years, public opinion on J.K. Rowling has shifted to an unprecedented degree due to theauthor’s controversial stance against transgender rights. Where theHarry Potterfranchise seemed like a series built on progressive ideas, Rowling’s recent comments regarding transgender individuals have put the entire franchise into a new light, with many people re-examining the work.
It has also left anyone with the uncomfortable factor of how to engage withHarry Potternow, both the original books, beloved movies, and the stage show.
Is It Possible To Separate Art from the Artist?
The expression “separating the art from the artist” is a complicated one. The basic question if one can or should appreciate an artist’s work apart from their actions. This is up to the discretion of each viewer, but with J.K. Rowling andHarry Potter, it is a tricky one. The world of Harry Potter means a lot to people, but now the writer’s viewpoints have soured the experience.
UnlikeStar Wars, where George Lucas has no creative control anymore, J.K. Rowling is the creative voice ofHarry Potterand gets to make the decision for the franchise.She also gains profits from merchandise or the play, which can make some viewers uncomfortable supporting her, knowing she has a certain level of influence granted to her by her status and can use those funds for purposes that one might not agree with.
In terms ofHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, it can be hard for a viewer to enjoy the story like they did when they were a kid because now they know the bigger story behind the scenes, unlike with theHarry Potterbooks and movies, they do not have the fond memories of childhood associated with it that allow them to engage with the material while addressing the troubling viewpoints of the author.
Now the play is trying to get older audiences who have a more complicated and, at times, angry relationship with theHarry Potterseries, and attempts to get a new younger fanbase seem difficult as their parents, likely kids who grew up withHarry Potter, might have second thoughts about introducing them to the Wizarding World.
J.K. Rowling is now a shadow that hangs over allHarry Potterentries, including the still-runningHarry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is still running in London, New York, and Germany and will be coming to Los Angeles in 2025.
