Watch the Trailer for a Fan-Made Voldemort Origin Story That Earned Warner Bros.’ Blessing

Most fan-made movies are kind of like Jehovah’s Witnesses: You know they exist—and that they’re well intentioned— but most people do everything they can to avoid them. Occasionally, though, a fan-made trailer or movie will come along that looks like it has actual potential. One such project is Gianmaria Pezzato and Stefano Prestia’s Voldemort: Origins of the Heir.

The 53-second trailer has exceptionally decent cinematography and special effects, and the only real negative is the goofy voiceover. If it weren’t for the pseudo-British accent that sounded like it may have been recorded in a dorm room, the trailer would appear like something condoned by J.K. Rowling herself.

Utilizing the high quality of their trailer, Pezzato and Prestia formulated Tryangle Films and ran a Kickstarter to raise funds for a full film. The campaign came to an abrupt halt, leading many to speculate that Warner Bros. had crushed the forthcoming film like a hippogriff accidentally sitting on Professor Flitwick. But, contrary to common beliefs, they two will be allowed to continue work on their film as long as they do not profit from it in any way. In an interview with Polygon, Pezzato described the conversation as follows:

We had a private and confidential discussion with Warner Bros. who contacted us during the period of the crowd funding campaign. The only thing we can say is that they let us proceed with the film, in a non profit way, obviously.

This is obviously great news for the ambitious filmmakers. During the same interview, Pezzato described the motivation behind the forthcoming film:

We wondered, ‘What made Tom 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.

This is ground largely left uncovered in the novels to date, and it’s surprising that Warner Bros. would allow those events to be covered, no matter how unofficially. Whenever the film is finished it will be uploaded to YouTube for free, per their agreement.

For now, check out the surprisingly well-done trailer above.