Will ‘Voldemort: Origins of the Heir’ answer the questions we’ve been asking about Tom Riddle?

Published: June 9, 2017

Voldemort: Origins of the Heir is a fan film that has set social media abuzz and could be the Voldemort film that we’ve always wanted to watch. The trailer, released by the production company Tryangle, received more than two million views in just 48 hours.

The official website of the film says that the idea was inspired by reading the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. The book made them wonder:

“What made Tom Marvolo Riddle become Voldemort? What happened in those years, and what really went down at Hogwarts when he came back? There are some clues in the books which have not been transposed at all in the movies, but a lot goes unspoken. This is the story we want to tell: the rise of the Dark Lord before Harry Potter and his first demise.”

The narrator of the trailer tells the audience how Riddle mysteriously disappeared a few years after graduating from Hogwarts. She recounts the scandal caused by a house elf accidentally poisoning Hepzibah Smith, a direct descendant of Hufflepuff. But the narrator, who is later revealed to be a Grisha McLaggen, heir of Gryffindor, suspects dark magic at play and promises to stop Riddle.

The special effects, cinematography and production design seen in the video sets it apart from other fan-made trailers and gives it the appearance of a big budget film. However, the people behind the trailer have already said that it is a non-commercial film that was made by fans for other fans and is not endorsed by, affiliated with, or associated with Warner Bros or JK Rowling in any way.

While this might be disappointing for some fans, others are rejoicing at the chance to watch a film with their beloved Harry Potter characters coming back to life, including some new ones. McLaggen, the female protagonist of the film, has certainly never appeared in the book series but could be a possible relation of another book character Cormac McLaggen who was also in Gryffindor house and whose family was said to be ‘big in the ministry’.

The film also promises the appearance of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, and will explore the connection between him and Riddle. All the other heirs of the Hogwarts houses and some inferi (living corpses) will also be showing up in the film.

The trailer has bewitched fans of the Harry Potter universe and already filled Twitter with excitement.

No official release date has been mentioned yet but the full film will be coming out by the end of 2017.

All photos: Screenshots

Mahrukh Sarwar

Mahrukh Sarwar

The author is a graduate from Mount Holyoke College in the US.
