A clash of two iconic franchises is currently underway at Heritage Auctions, with trading cards from the Harry Potter and Star Wars sagas fighting it out with the highest bids of the the site’s Non-Sports Trading Cards Showcase. Both franchises have cemented themselves a place in pop culture and neither are yet ready to fade away, with a new Harry Potter series coming to HBO Max this December and the next Star Wars movie, Starfighter, heading into cinemas in 2027, which means that there is always plenty of interest from collectors at this type of auction. For that reason, both cards are leading the pack by some way compared to even highly sought Superman and Batman cards also available. The question is, which one will break through to become the winner of this particular clash – or could one of those DC cards make a surge at the auctions close to prove that superhero fatigue is just a myth.
The two competing cards are among the best of their type. In the Star Wars corner is a 1977 Topps Star Wars #2 “See-Threepio and Artoo-Detoo” card with a PSA Gem Mint 10 grading, making it a genuinely flawless example of a Star Wars Series 1 card that not only survived the factory and avoided any of the known centering issues, but also has been kept in immaculate condition for almost 50 years since its release. While it is the #1 Luke Skywalker card that usually attracts the most attention at auction, this card’s condition makes it of great interest to collectors looking to add one of the finest examples to their own collections. Meanwhile, over on the Potter side is a 2004 ArtBox Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Update Edition Autographs card bearing the signature of Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe, graded as PSA Mint 9/Auto 9. What makes this card so special is that it is one of only 2 that exist in this grade, and that kind of detail can be worth as much as an item from decades earlier.
These two auction lots are proof that both franchises can still attract plenty of interest despite the continuous online discourse over Potter author J.K. Rowling and modern Star Wars’ failure to please large sections of the intense fandom. At the time of writing, the Harry Potter card is narrowly leading the entire auction with a bid of $4,100, while the Star Wars card is not too far behind at $3,500. With more than a week to go until the bidding closes, there is still plenty of time for either of these cards to see their prices increase dramatically, or for another card entirely to come up from the rear and leapfrog both of them. Whatever the result, these cards are still selling for a lot more than they were originally purchased for, and could command much higher prices in just a few years as the hobby only seems to become a more lucrative pastime for those with deep pockets.
As for the two franchises, there is nothing to suggest that we will be seeing the end of either of them anytime in the next couple of decades. Star Wars finally broke its theatrical hiatus this year with The Mandalorian and Grogu, a big screen continuation of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, and will put Ryan Gosling’s Starfighter into cinemas next summer. There are also several other movies being developed with at least another decade of projects already being worked on at some level. For Harry Potter it all about the arrival of the franchise’s reboot in HBO Max’s lavish new TV adaptation of Rowling’s seven novels, which begins with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on Christmas Day. There have been many questions about the necessity for a new version of the magical story just 15 years after the movie franchise ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011. However, the premiere episode is almost guaranteed to become a record breaker on December 25 as a new decade of Potter begins.
What is your take on the future of the Star Wars and Harry Potter franchises? Have they been done to death or are you excited for their new chapters? Let us know in the comments.
