Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the eighth book and first play in the Harry Potter series, is coming out at the end of July… and excitement does not seem to be riding high. It’s actually pretty shocking. Even though advertisements for Harry Potter 8 dot the landscape, anticipation for the continuation of the Harry Potter series does not exactly seem to be bubbling over. Sure, people are interested. But the last book was the fastest-selling book ever and sold 8.3 million copies on its first day. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child just doesn’t seem to be getting that kind of attention. What gives?

Why Isn’t Everyone Excited For Harry Potter And The Cursed Child?

The announcement of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child way back in 2015 came as quite a surprise… especially with the news that the eighth Harry Potter story wouldn’t be a novel, but a play… a real play, performed on London’s West End. It sold out immediately for its entire run, but that’s no surprise. It didn’t exactly have millions of seats. Later, it was announced that a book version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child would come out the day after the premiere, also in (written) play form.

And since then, sure, people are interested. But excitement for Harry Potter 8, even though it’s just two weeks away, is nowhere near the level of anticipation for, say, Game of Thrones… or Winds of Winter. Every site on the Internet isn’t chock full of stories about Harry Potter; we aren’t overwhelmed by theories, questions, reports from people who have seen the previews. For a sold out show from the biggest media property basically ever, it’s surprisingly quiet.

What gives? I don’t have an answer. Are people afraid that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be terrible, or at least that it won’t live up to their expectations? Are they concerned about the change of format, or just not interested in plays, written or otherwise? Has the world moved on from wizards (not bloody likely!)? Or is it all just observer bias? Maybe Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will become as much of a smash hit as its predecessors, maybe the play will quickly move to Broadway. Perhaps anticipation will pick up. Or perhaps the narrative will change as soon as we know whether it’s any good (early reports say yes!). Is that the key to this all? Are we waiting to find out whether J.K. Rowling pulled it off, brought the magic back one more time?

Whatever it is, let’s hope Harry Potter and the Cursed Child meets our vision of what an eighth Harry Potter story could be. We’ll find out soon enough.