Curating the canon: The politics of canon and culture in Hogwarts Legacy

"Curating the Canon: The Politics of Canon and Culture in Hogwarts Legacy," examines how the 2023 video game Hogwarts Legacy reshapes the definition of canon within the Wizarding World franchise. Traditionally, literary canon relies on the authority of the original creator, placing J.K. Rowling's seven Harry Potter novels at the top of a hierarchical pyramid. However, this author-centric model has fractured under the weight of multi-author adaptations, corporate publishing interests, and audience reception. Works featuring Rowling's direct involvement or endorsement—such as the Fantastic Beasts films and the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child—faced critical pushback, plot contradictions, and fan rejection, proving that authorial sanction alone cannot secure canonical legitimacy.

Conversely, Hogwarts Legacy achieved massive commercial success, selling over 40 million copies despite lacking direct involvement or public endorsement from Rowling. Set in the 1800s, the game integrates visual elements from the films, resurrects book-exclusive characters like Peeves and Professor Binns, and expands lore surrounding ancient magic, Goblin rebellions, and uncharted areas of Hogwarts and Azkaban. Although interactive gameplay introduces canonical contradictions, such as branching endings and temporary use of the Elder Wand, its fidelity to existing lore fosters a fan-driven "consensus-canon".

Furthermore, the paper frames Hogwarts Legacy as a form of "virtual musealization" that preserves and curates the cultural heritage of the Wizarding World. Through tactile environmental exploration and collectible Field Guide Pages, players actively negotiate between established lore and new interactive narratives. Ultimately, Bakshi argues that canon in transmedial franchises is no longer a fixed, author-dictated axiom, but a collaborative, commercial, and interactive construct shaped by three converging forces: declining singular authorial authority, rising publisher-led endorsement, and player consensus. Future scholarship must examine how fan communities reconcile gameplay contradictions and how corporate distancing from Rowling's public controversies further redefines canonical authority.