The Harry Potter movies’ first director revealed why he won’t be working on HBO’s upcoming TV adaptation. Focused on students who attend a school for wizards, J. K. Rowling’s series of novels inspired extremely profitable Harry Potter movies and the upcoming HBO series. It is believed that the Harry Potter show will premiere in early 2027 with an eight-episode first season.
Since the franchise has millions of passionate fans, many people want to learn everything that is known about the upcoming Harry Potter series. While some are looking forward to the ambitious 10-year plan for the Harry Potter series, one of the original architects of the films won’t be involved.
The director of the first two Harry Potter movies, Chris Columbus, addressed his lack of involvement in the upcoming series. While speaking to Variety, Columbus explained that he wouldn’t be working on the Harry Potter show because he doesn’t have anything new to bring to the franchise. Check out Columbus’ comments below:
No, I’ve done it, you saw my version. There’s nothing left for me to do in the world of Potter.
Even though it had never been reported that Columbus would be working on the Harry Potter TV show, his remarks about the show are still very important. After all, the fact that Columbus won’t play any role in crafting the Harry Potter story for a new generation of TV fans could make a huge difference.
On the one hand, Columbus not having a role in the Harry Potter show could be a blow to the series. Columbus helmed the films that introduced movie-going audiences to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As a result, Columbus’ expertise theoretically could have benefitted the show.
On the other hand, Columbus’ absence will give new storytellers more of a chance to put their stamp on the Harry Potter story. Having new people adapting Harry Potter into a TV show has to be exciting for the people who love the franchise, despite some pushback and scandals.
For anyone who loves movies and TV shows, Columbus deserves respect. Columbus wrote or directed movies like Gremlins, The Goonies, Home Alone, and Mrs. Doubtfire, Columbus’ career was amazing before he had anything to do with Harry Potter. Still, I’m glad Columbus isn’t involved with HBO’s Harry Potter series.
Even though Columbus’ career has been incredible, there is a simple reason why I don’t want him working on the HBO series. As Columbus pointed out, he has already put his stamp on the film franchise. To have the show not be a retread of what happened before, the series needs to find its own identity.
HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter show will inherently have a lot in common with the movies. As a result, the series will need to feel different in meaningful ways for it to have value separate from those movies. Having Columbus not working on the show will hopefully result in a series that feels unique to what came before.
Francisca Gardiner
Mark Mylod
Francesca Gardiner
Dominic McLaughlin
Harry Potter
Janet McTeer
Minerva McGonagall
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