There are fans and then there are super-fans. Fans stand in line to get their hands on tickets that guarantee they’ll see the movie first. In contrast, super-fans create a whole new movie. From scratch.
A group of bona-fide Harry Potter super-fans in Italy did just that with their beloved wizarding world. On Jan. 13, Tryangle Films released its unofficial Harry Potter prequel on YouTube, which chronicles Tom Riddle’s evolution into Voldemort.
“Voldemort: Origins of the Heir” follows a new character named Grisha McLaggen, the Griffyndor heir, as she hunts for a way to save Riddle from himself.
The 52-minute film aims to explain what caused Riddle to become Voldemort and happened at Hogwarts when he came back.
Certainly every Potterhead, including the director Gianmaria Pezzato, has wondered and pondered these very questions. Now, we all may have a few new answers to add to the conversation.
Though it draws inspiration from J.K. Rowling’s sixth novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it features a clear disclaimer in the opening credits:
“This film is a non-commercial fan film made by fans for fans and is not endorsed by, affiliated with or associated with Warner Bros. or J.K. Rowling.”
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The film almost didn’t happen. It started as a Kickstarter-funded Tryangle Films production but Warner Bros. claimed copyright infringement and the campaign was taken off Kickstarter, according to NME. In June 2017, Pezzato struck a deal with Warner Bros. and the project was revived so long as the resulting film was released for free.
Already, “Voldemort: Origins of the Heir” has garnered nearly nine million views — and Harry Potter fans are on board! So, grab a butterbeer latte, some Golden Snitch cake pops and dive into the origins of Voldemort to see for yourself:
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6SZa5U8sIg” /]