Chris Columbus doesn’t fully see the point of the Harry Potter TV series
The Harry Potter franchise is getting rebooted as a TV series at HBO, and it was recently announced that production has commenced on the series, with filming taking place at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, UK. The press release noted that the series “will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max where it’s available, including in upcoming launch markets Germany, Italy, and the UK.” While Chris Columbus executive produced and directed the first and second Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and stuck around as producer on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he is not involved with the TV show – and during a recent interview, he even admitted that he doesn’t see the point of the series.
One moment that baffled Columbus was when he got a look at images of Nick Frost as the character Hagrid, and he looked exactly the same as the character looked in Columbus’s movies. During an appearance on the The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Columbus said (with thanks to The Hollywood Reporter for the transcription), “I looked online and there are photographs of Nick Frost as Hagrid with the new Harry Potter, and he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like: ‘What’s the point?’ I thought everything [on the HBO show] the costumes and everything was going to be different. It’s more of the same. It’s very flattering for me, because I’m like: That’s exactly the Hagrid costume that we designed. So part of it is really exciting. I’m excited to see what they’re going to do with it. Part of it is sort of déjà vu all over again.“
The cast includes John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as his father Lucius Malfoy, Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby as Petunia Dursley and Vernon Dursley, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley. As minister for magic Cornelius Fudge, we have Bertie Carvel. As Hogwarts students Seamus Finnigan, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown, the show has cast newcomers Leo Earley, Alessia Leoni, and Sienna Moosah. There’s Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, and Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander, plus twins Tristan and Gabriel Harland will play Fred and George Weasley, with Ruari Spooner as Percy Weasley and Gracie Cochrane as Ginny Weasley. Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout star as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.
Each season of the Harry Potter TV series is said to cover one of J.K. Rowling’s novels, for a total of seven seasons. While the movies were able to fit quite a lot in, there were plenty of moments cut from the novels that the TV series will finally be able to bring to life. Last year, HBO released a statement saying, “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.” The first season will be filming for ten months and is expected to consist of either eight or six episodes. The series is said to be, like the novels, set in the 1990s.
The synopsis for the show says, “The franchise follows the life of a young wizard, the titular Harry Potter, whose parents died under mysterious circumstances when he was very young. He was forced to live a life of misery and servitude to his aunt and uncle and their awful son before he was freed from his gilded cage when Hagrid extended an invitation that changed his life forever. The adventure begins as Harry and his magical friends Ron and Hermoine become students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who come of age in a time of extreme turmoil where the threat of war looms close.”
Succession‘s Francesca Gardiner serves as a writer and showrunner on the series, while Mark Mylod signed on to executive produce and direct multiple episodes. The project was originally developed solely for HBO Max but made the leap to HBO last summer.
Do you understand the point of the Harry Potter TV series, or do you have déjà vu like Chris Columbus? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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