6 Potterverse Fan Films You Can Watch Instead of The Crimes of Grindelwald

Some fans are really upset about the casting of Johnny Depp in the latest Harry Potter film because of the domestic abuse allegations made against him. The heat hasn’t really let up on Rowling or Warner Brothers since an explosion of reactions met JK Rowling’s official statement on the matter. And director David Yates didn’t exactly help. The climate’s been … uncomfortable, to say the least.

Since then, big-name Harry Potter fans and even past actors of the franchise have revealed their discontent with the decision to keep Depp. But that doesn’t seem to matter much to Warner Brothers, unless a mass amount of fans actively boycott the movie.

Totally unrelated side-note: Did you know there’s a sweet, brand-new Harry Potter prequel fan film out RIGHT NOW?

After getting a takedown notice from WB, this fan film finally got the greenlight. It’s about a OC named Grisha McLaggen, who’s hunting down the killer of Hepzibah Smith: young Voldemort. It’s an hour long, pretty darn cool, and totally free. Support the production house here.

Voldemort: Origins of the Heir

And there’s been quite a few other brilliant fan films over the years.

(None of which include certain actors getting paid millions of dollars to drink $30,000 wine! Why do we mention that? No reason.)

Severus Snape and the Marauders

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This short film is by Broad Strokes Productions and follows the parent back-story that was hardly mentioned and the beloved characters who went almost completely ignored in the official films: the Marauders.

The Greater Good

This is another Broad Strokes movie, and covers the same era and complicated relationship as in the next Fantastic Beasts film.

Mischief Managed

Another Marauders-era film, this one by Foregone Films, was shot by Oxford students. (As a result, it has many of the same locations as the actual films!)

Le Maitre de la Mort (The Master of Death)

Any French Potterheads? You’ve got a cool prequel fan film too. This one takes place in the 1940s and involves Elyana Ogden, an auror, investigating a series of deaths.

There’s also fan films being made right now, like The Gathering Storm, which is another Marauders-era film.

And we couldn’t possibly make a list of fan films without mentioning the wonderful musical, which deserves approximately 10 billion re-watches.

A Very Potter Musical

There’s also the sequel, and StarKid continues to make really fun stuff.

Almost all of these had little-to-no budget, involved actors simply donating their time for the love of it, and were made with a lot of passion by fans for fans, with almost no return on investment due to Warner Brothers and copyright restrictions.

As long-time fans, a lot of us are really conflicted right now. Ignoring scandals, some lackluster, officially sanctioned content has been getting mixed reviews. Don’t be pressed to abandon everything.

It’s okay to still love Potter. And there’s still a lot of great content out there. Assuming we don’t get our pants sued off.