Chance: 10%. So, let's start with the obvious: Harry Potter would be a huge get for this game. It wouldn't be the biggest IP in a platform fighter ever (that'd still be Pokemon in Smash), but it is still the highest-grossing Warner-Bros-assoicated IP, having several billion dollars over Batman. Harry Potter is famous worldwide and nostalgic for tonne of people. Not including it in this game is leaving a lot of galleons on the table!
This scene was a visual metaphor for Warner Bros after securing the movie rights for this franchise...
The IP is closely associated with Warner, who make its movies and make its games. There's also a connection between the upcoming big Potter game outing Hogwarts Legacy and Multiversus, as both have staff who formerly worked together on another big corporate crossover video game franchise, Disney Infinity.
Harry Potter has also done some Warner Bros crossovers before. Dumbledore appears in the LEGO Movie, Voldemort appears in the LEGO Batman movie, several Potter/Fantastic-Beasts characters appear in LEGO Dimensions, and the world of Harry Potter is featured in Space Jam 2.
Space Jam 2 truly does have the writing quality of an overacted toy commercial... if toy commercials were also selling Game of Thrones and Rick and Morty.
However, beyond that... I cannot find any major Harry Potter gaming collabs outside of the aforementioned LEGO ones. I don't see any Potter mobile game collabs or any appearances in generic free-for-all crossovers? There's some Potter themed reskins of existent games (ex/ Wizards Unite! reusing Niantic's AR tech they used in Pokemon Go, a lot of usaopoly stuff like Harry Potter Clue, etc), but not proper crossovers where the Potter IP interacts with other IPs... The closest thing Fortnite has to a Potter skin is an "Oakwitch Academy" set featuring a witch wearing similar glasses.
This was a fanmade skin that was made official, so I won't be too harsh about the intimation...
This is because J.K. Rowling keeps a close grip on this IP. Thankfully, there's nothing remotely controvesial or noteworthy about J.K. Rowling's personal views and I'm sure she'd approve the IP's inclusion in Multiversus! There's no elephant in the room here. Negotiations would go swimmingly, I'm sure!
...
sighs
I miss 2015 when this conversation would be so much less complicated.
Okay, so, uh, Rowling has decided to make hating trans people a core part of her online presence. Like, a very core part. A "I support people who say that queer representation in media is indoctrination while also wanting praise for the 6 entire seconds of queer Dumbledore content included in Fantastic Beasts 3"-level core part. And a lot of Warner Media franchises have themes and characters that directly go against those views.
Let's discuss that, I guess! Let's discuss how real-world transphobia will impact this video game roster...
The most obvious topic here is The Matrix, which was created by a pair of trans women and has a lot of trans themes in it. When Multiversus was first leaked prior to its official reveal, there was a lot of discussion online about the potential irony of a Potter/Matrix crossover... but this one has also already sort of happened via Space Jam 2 including both of them.
We already rated Neo, but suffice it to say that I do believe he will be coming down the line.
This is shaping up to be a pretty big year for trans characters in DC Comics. Nia Nal / Dreamer is entering the main DC universe for the first time, having previously been in the Supergirl TV series. In the comics, she will be appearing in an upcoming issue of Superman: Son of Kal-El as well as in the annual DC Pride special. Meanwhile, Alysia Yeoh is going from a comics-exclusive character to a DCEU character, debuting in the Batgirl movie. And Galaxy Crowned is a new trans DC hero debuting next month, first in a Free Comic Book Day issue and then in a full YA graphic novel.
I don't think any of these characters are super likely to be playable in Multiversus (though if Batgirl is added, I could see the DC Bombshells Yeoh Batgirl being added as a skin for her), but they still speak to a pretty firm stance being taken by DC as a company.
And, of course, Steven Universe exists and is already confirmed to have two fighters on the roster. It's a series created by a genderqueer person and has a lot of queer themes throughout, including trans themes in how Steven struggles with his identity and how it is not respected by the society around him in the final seasons.
So... Do I think JK Rowling would refuse to allow Potter content in Multiversus because of Steven Universe and the potential for more trans-coded content coming down the line? I don't know for sure, but I don't think that is an irrational thought. She operates in increasingly-radical circles as time goes on. The initial pre-reveal report of the game's existence also indicated that Harry and Ron had both been scrapped due to licensing concerns, which could be a result of this tension between Rowling's views and the lessons taught in media like Steven Universe...
There's also the possibility that Player First Games wouldn't want JK to be involved either. Any Potter content would end up being controversial with the player-base and they do seem to be including a lot of queer characters with queer fandoms in the roster - ex/ Garnet is two lesbians in a trench coat, Harley Quinn is a bisexual disaster, Wonder Woman is a slightly-less-disastrous bisexual, Velma, while still not having ever been explicitly gay at time of writing, has been written as gay several times and just never allowed to make it explicit, etc.. They may not want to deal with the headache either.
Finally, it's been reported Warner is considering ending the Fantastic Beasts series early due to all the controversies surrounding... so much of that movie series - between actor controversies, JK controversies, and the declining quality of the films... If that ends up happening, it certainly isn't a good sign for the future of the IP with Warner!
Want: 0%. I used to like Harry Potter a lot. It's sad how the reputation of the series has been so thoroughly embroiled in controversy, terrible spin-offs and sequels, and ego... I don't want Rowling to make money from this game and so, no, I do not want this IP in this game.
Anyway, uh, trans rights are humans rights!
Noms: All on Renee
