How Harry Potter Can Learn From the Star Wars Franchise #HarryPotter @starwars

The Star Wars franchise has been producing movies, gathering fans since 1977; so they know a thing or two about how to handle a beloved franchise. Harry Potter has been making movies since the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001. In 2011, with the release of the last movie, the Harry Potter series passed Star Wars to become the top grossing franchise in box office history. Adjusted for inflation of ticket prices, this might be another story as Star Wars has sold twice the amount of tickets as Harry Potter. So we can see that there is a thing or two that Harry Potter can learn from the Star Wars series.

Firstly, consider this story:

A young greasy boy by the name of Severus Snape meets a young muggle-born girl by the name of Lily Evans. Watching from the bushes, he falls in love with her. He recognizes her as a witch and tells her about the existence of magic and she is deemed a "freak" by her sister. Lily and Severus become good friends until their fifth year at Hogwarts. She is concerned about his attraction to the dark arts. Resulting from a fit of anger, Severus insults Lily. She later confront him about his intention to indulge in the dark arts. When he does not deny it, she severs all ties with him.

James Potter and his friends have adventures in school. James seeks to win the favour of Lily Evans, an attractive fellow Gryffindor, but she is unimpressed by his uncouth mannerisms. Eventually James learns to overcome his immature ways, saving the life of Severus, who he always liked to bully, and eventually becoming head-boy. James manages to finally impress Lily and they start dating. Severus joins the dark side. James and Lily wed and has a son. A wizarding war brews and James and Lily join forces with the Order of the Phoenix to fight against the evil Lord Voldemort.

Now consider this one.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a young farm-boy turned hero, by the name Luke Skywalker assembles a crew of allies in the war to overthrow the evil Empire and to rescue Princess Leia, the rebel leader, who was captured by the sinister Darth Vader, who Anakin is yet unaware, is his father. (That can't be a spoiler can it? Surely you know Luke, I am your father! - possibly the most popular movie quote of all time.)

The story then reverts an entire generation to tell the tale of the innocent Anakin Skywalker - the young boy who grows up to become the fearsome and dreaded Darth Vader.

What can you tell about the two?

The former is a tale only half of which has been told. All the details we know so far has only been briefly told in the books and shows. There is a lot more room for expansion. Which leads me to my first point.

The concept of launching a series of prequels, piggybacking upon the success of the original, is by no means a new concept. It has been done as recently as Lord of the Rings. Which was originally published as one novel in three volumes. The phenomenon that had been unleashed has led to the adaptation of the books to the movies with which we are familiar with today. The franchise recently decided to split The Hobbit, the one-book prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy into 3 movies. Though smaller than the original books, it was split into three. This could be seen as trying to 'milk' the series for all it’s worth. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing: everybody wins. The fans get more than they bargained for, and the franchise continues to rake in the money. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has gotten an 8.1 rating on IMDB, which would indicate that most people generally enjoyed the movie. A second part, The Desolation of Smaug is set for a 2013 release and another, There and Back Again set for 2014.

This emulates the template laid down by the Star Wars Franchise, which ran their second trilogy from 1999 to 2005. If Lord of the Rings can follow in these footsteps, why can't Harry Potter? The fans will surely be glad. There is an abundance of material to choose from; by all indications, Harry’s parents were quite the mischief makers, reminiscent of brothers Fred and George. And their adult lives were even more exciting, having to take on Voldemort and being murdered and all.

Here presents an opportunity to make everyone happy – I’m sure the fans glad would be more than glad to see this happen. The Harry Potter universe has already spawned a wealth of fascinating characters that incite within us a burning longing and appreciated for. So from Lily’s first reject of James, to the moment Lord Voldemort alohomora’s the Potters, our hearts will be with them. And this practically guarantees the show will be successful, although it more than has the potential to walk on its own two legs.

And there is also another thing that Harry Potter can learn from Star Wars.

• “We Can’t Stop” The New Miley Cyrus

• Nicki Minaj: Trinidadian Roots

• Anime Guys: Why We Can't Help but Love Them

• Lady Gaga Artpop Cover and Track Listing

• What does the future hold for Lady Gaga?

• Harry Potter Books Get New Covers

• The Beauty of Macklemore's Same Love

The next way Harry Potter can benefit, is by answering, "what happens next?"

Consider if the franchise was to be sold to another company. This may seem like a dangerous thing to do - to put your beloved franchise into another’s hands can hurt more than help, if you are not careful.

At first I was worried when I heard that Disney had bought over the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas, who had been directing the films since its inception. I did not want the films to become watered-down versions of themselves, forced to stick a “G”-rating on every movie that comes out under its new ownership. But then I realized that Disney own Pirates of the Caribbean which is a series that can more than hold its own. And this takeover, by Disney, was similar to that of Marvel, which continued along smoothly, pleasing its dedicated fan-base.

And then I saw Disney’s plans for the franchise. Star Wars Episode VII was expected to drop in 2015, as part of a new trilogy, with a new film hitting cinemas every year, at least until 2020, when the new trilogy would be concluded. Disney has also been working on standalone movies, revolving around specific beloved characters from the franchise, and has subsequently been working on new games, books, comics and merchandise.

There was a new fire that had been breathed into the series. Though it is possible for fans to suffer from a Star Wars-overload, it would be interesting to see where the new path would take the series.

Though volatile, it correctly handled, it could be not only a gold-mine, but a haven for the geeks galore. And this is where I saw massive potential if the Harry Potter series was to follow in stride.

Imagine a new movie every year… Revolving around Harry’s life at the ministry, or other happenings in the wizard world. Or if the adults have gotten too old, focus on the kids. There was limitless potential. Surely there is bound to be some great disturbance in the force at some point in time, whereby the magic world would need a new Chosen One, or the old Chosen Old to return.

Imagine if you heard a new Harry Potter movie was coming out next year... Wouldn't you be excited? Most fans would agree with me when I say that the possibilities are endless if the series wants to look to the future.

And in my final argument for why I think Harry Potter should follow the example set, I will simply say: We need more Harry Potter to fill the holes in our aching hearts.