New ‘Harry Potter’ Books? — Twitter Hashtag Freaks Out And Trolls Fans Of JK Rowling’s Franchise
Twitter has been up in arms over the past few days as the hashtag #newharrypotterbooks has been going around, and everyone is as excited as they possibly could be. They can’t wait for JK Rowling to bring about a new collection of direct Harry Potter books, but they’re going to have to keep waiting because it isn’t happening.
Well, it’s not happening now, at least.
As Entertainment Weekly reported, Comedy Central‘s @midnight started the hashtag #newharrypotterbooks and encouraged as many people as possible to get it trending. It worked and the hashtag began trending worldwide.
Is that a wand in your pocket or are you just excited for hashtag wars? Tonight we’re playing #NewHarryPotterBooks! https://t.co/6nk2Y25xzU
— @midnight (@midnight) July 30, 2015
Even though fans have heard Rowling say on numerous occasions that she won’t be writing any new direct Harry Potter books, they still were trolled. As soon as the hashtag was revealed and began making the internet rounds, they automatically began thinking a new book was being written. JK Rowling did recently announce Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but that new chapter of the Boy Who Lived’s life is for the theatrical stage. It will open at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End during the summer of 2016. Many asked Rowling why she went with the stage instead of a new book, and she hopped on Twitter to answer.
“To answer one inevitable (and reasonable!) question – why isn’t Cursed Child a new novel? I am confident that when audiences see the play they will agree that it was the only proper medium for the story.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be a prequel to her first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone, and seen as a “new story” in the eyes of Rowling. That is something to get excited about, but #newharrypotterbooks made a lot of people angry and very upset once they learned the truth. Others took the joke and ran with it to keep it going as long as possible.
Harry Potter and the University of Phoenix Online #NewHarryPotterBooks
— Bill Bradley (@gumgumerson) July 30, 2015
Snapes on a plane… #NewHarryPotterBooks pic.twitter.com/uM8VQqYe3U
— Gordon Heliotrope (@GordoHelio) July 30, 2015
Harry Potter and Batman: A Guide to Growing Up Without Parents #NewHarryPotterBooks @midnight
— Jeremy Just (@one_ring_77) July 30, 2015
There were thousands upon thousands of these with some being hilarious and others making some far reaches.
JK Rowling may never write a new Harry Potter novel again, and if she stands by her word, she simply won’t. The hashtag #newharrypotterbooks got a lot of excitement on Twitter for numerous reasons, but it also brought about some extreme anger and disgust. Comedy Central’s @midnight succeeded at what they were trying to accomplish.
[Image via A Pilgrim In Narnia]
