Harry Potter art reimagines major characters as punk icons, and it’s got the cast looking edgier than ever. Director Chris Columbus first brought the world of controversial author J.K. Rowling’s books to life in 2001, introducing audiences to the magical world of Hogwarts and Harry’s epic quest against the Dark Lord Voldemort. The story takes place across seven years in the 1990s but, for the most part, retains a timeless feel throughout.
Thanks to new AI-generated art shared by AI Dreams on Instagram, however, key Harry Potter characters are put firmly into a retro punk era, and it really suits Hagrid. Check out the images below:
The carousel of images, from left to right, features punk renditions of Ron, Hermione, Harry, Voldemort, Ginny, Draco, Luna, Hagrid, and Bellatrix. Even Dobby gets an edgy reimagining in the final image.
Should Harry Potter Have Been More Edgy?
While the franchise may have started off as a whimsical and wondrous adventure, each subsequent installment becomes a little darker, with the story and its themes becoming more grown up as its characters do. Considering the Harry Potter franchise’s box office sits at about $7.7 billion (not including the Fantastic Beasts movies) and the eight movies remain beloved to this day, it’s easy to say that the creatives behind the movies struck the perfect tonal balance.
As a franchise aimed at audiences of all ages, going too dark and too edgy would really just be alienating people who liked Rowling’s books. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is probably the darkest film of the bunch, featuring a number of devastating character deaths, but making every movie like that or pushing the franchise even further into dark territory risks eliminating what makes the story so effective.
Even in the darkest films in the franchise, Harry Potter excels when it gives its characters quiet, heartwarming moments of joy and respite. Seeing Harry, Hermione, and Ron celebrating a cozy Christmas at Hogwarts, for example, or just finding solace in each other’s company when the odds are stacked against them remain some of the most heartwarming scenes from the franchise. Losing these moments of joy and friendship in favor of making Harry Potter edgier and darker would be to change the beating heart of the story, and that clearly wouldn’t have been the right move.
