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Harry Potter shame: Cast and studio's attempts to airbrush JK Rowling out of franchise FAIL

Despite Warner Bros attempt to credit her in the most discreet of ways in the upcoming Potterverse projects, Rowling still holds power over everything

Earlier this week, Warner Bros tried to diminish JK Rowling's credit as screenwriter and producer in the trailer drop for 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'. The blink and you'll miss it feature is viewed as yet another failed attempt from the studio as well as the cast and crew of the Potter franchise to distance themselves from the literary icon who stirred the pot after taking issue with the phrase "people who menstruate" used in an article. On June 7, 2020, she linked the article in a tweet and sent it out with the caption that has since contributed to the cold treatment meted out to her by the studio, the cast, as well as the lovers of the magical universe she spun. 

"'People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?," she tweeted, further adding the headline of the article which read, "Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate." Rowling, the highest-paid author in the world, only second to 'Along Came the Spider' writer James Patterson, is sitting on a fortune of $1 billion. Despite the multiple award-winning author's books being highly regarded literary works, she now finds herself secluded over her decision to exercise her free speech right. However, Rowling still controls and will continue to exercise almost absolute creative control over everything Potter.

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Warner Bros CANNOT make any moves without Rowling's consent

Rowling wasn't rostered to film for 'Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts' which is scheduled to premiere on January 1, 2022. But neither HBO nor anyone else for that matter has or can completely airbrush her. Rowling's publicist Mark Hutchinson in a statement to Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff said, "Jo isn’t commenting at the moment, but on the 20th-anniversary retrospective, she will be included via archive material with the approval of her team." The last few words of the statement, loud and clear, mentions that Warner Bros cannot make any moves without seeking consent from Rowling's agent Neil Blair and her team of lawyers.  

Coming back to the recent 'Fantastic Beasts' trailer, which she helped write, opened with 'Warner Bros invites you' and mentioned her name in fine print. While it might suit them to do so, the studio that owns the rights to all eight Potter films, cannot erase her from the brand and cannot air any content without mentioning her name. Adding to this, Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter confirmed, "The Harry Potter franchise has complicated rights issues . . . Rowling controls the franchise and has a say in everything involving the property." As for Rowling, she has continued to use her voice for what she believes in. "War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength. The Penised Individual Who Raped You Is a Woman," she tweeted, a day before 'Fantastic Beasts 3' trailer release. She shared the lines of George Orwell's '1984' novel while criticizing police laws in Scotland that allows rape suspects to self-identify as women.