Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has said there cannot be a reunion due to JK Rowling’s controversial trans views.
Columbus, who made the first two films, previously suggested he’d like to adapt the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for the big screen, but said “it’s never going to happen” with the original child stars.
“It’s gotten so complicated with all the political stuff,” Columbus said, referencing the fact Potter star Daniel Radcliffe and Hermione actor Emma Watson spoke out against Rowling’s stance on trans rights.
“Everyone in the cast has their own opinion, which is different from her opinion, which makes it impossible,” the Thursday Murder Club director toldThe Times.
Columbus said he hasn’t spoken to Rowling in a decade or so, adding: “I have no idea what’s going on with her.”
But he keeps very close contact with Radcliffe and still has “a great relationship with all the kids in the cast”.
In the last five years, Rowling has repeatedly come under fire for various comments about gender ideology, with many, including stars of the Potter film adaptations, accusing her of transphobia.
The author has become ostracised from the former child actors due to her views – and she previously said she would not forgive the actors for criticising her opinions, telling them to “save their apologies”.
In 2020, Radcliffe wrote an essay for The Trevor Project as a way of showing support for the trans community, and apologised “for the pain” Rowling’s comments have caused the Harry Potter fandom.
Meanwhile, Watson wrote: “I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are,” and appeared to make a dig at Rowling at the Baftas in 2022.
Columbus, whose film credits include Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire, previously told Variety:“ I like to sometimes separate the artist from the art, I think that’s important to do. It’s unfortunate, what’s happened. I certainly don’t agree with what she’s talking about. But it’s just sad, it’s very sad.”
He also questioned the necessity for a new HBO series based on Rowling’s book franchise, calling it “more of the same”.
Columbus’s new film, an adaptation of Richard Osman’s best-selling mystery series The Thursday Murder Club, is on Netflix now. It stars Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley and Celia Imrie.
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