'Troll' Remake Looks to Capitilize on Harry Potter Fandom

Sure, the adventures of J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard are done (at least until she decides to write the tale of Harry’s ten year Hogwarts reunion), but the original Harry Potter – the main character in John Carl Buechler’s cult classic B movie Troll – is about to make his return to the silver screen.

Buechler, who’s probably best known for directing Friday the 13^th Part VII: The New Blood (which featured a young psychic girl taking on Jason Voorhees), has been prepping the remake since roughly 2007. Things appear to be moving forward at last, and the film has even found its star – and no, it’s not Daniel Radcliffe.

Harrison Bliss is now the newest Harry Potter in the land of movies. Bliss takes over for original star Noah Hathaway, but we’re hoping that Buechler and company get Hathaway involved in some way. Maybe he can play Harry Potter Sr.

The new project isn’t being shy about mentioning its Harry Potter connection – the current title is Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, which might draw the attention of Warner Bros’ gaggle of lawyers. Buechler’s team isn’t the least bit worried about that – they’ve hired high-powered LA attorney Thomas Girardi to make sure any legal issues are quashed as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Warners wouldn’t appear to have much of a legal leg to stand on in the first place. Buechler’s story about a boy who must save his sister has been possessed by a troll predates Rowling’s first book by over a decade. In fact, apparently Troll’s producers considered suing Warners and Rowling over the use of the Harry Potter name – and only some family issues kept that from proceeding. We’re no lawyers, but we doubt that the Troll team would have won a lawsuit – but it’s fun to imagine if they did. Would Rowling and Warners been forced to rename the character Harold Potter or something equally odd?

Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter appears to still be in the early stages of development. Buechler is supposed to be returning to direct and sources close to the project state that other actors have signed on to appear in the film, but Bliss is the only officially confirmed name we’ve heard thus far. We’ll keep you posted as details emerge, but in the meantime, enjoy this trailer for the original film.