Chris Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter films, has said he wondered why the new television series was being made after he saw set photos of characters wearing the “exact same costume” from the films.
Columbus directed the first two instalments in the Harry Potter film adaptations – 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – and was a producer on the third film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The film adaptations starred Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger.
On a podcast appearance, Columbus said he got “déjà vu” when he saw pictures of Nick Frost in costume as Hagrid.
“So I’m seeing these photographs online and he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid,” he said on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast. “Part of me was like, ‘What's the point?’”
“I thought the costumes and everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same. It’s all going to be 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 TV adaptation of the hit franchise was first confirmed by HBO Max in 2023 and aims to be a “faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer JK Rowling”.
The series is expected to be released in 2027 and run for a decade, with each season based on one of the seven Rowling books. The books follow the story of 11-year-old Harry Potter as he learns of his acceptance to Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry, and his attempts to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort.
Columbus was also asked if he was in any way envious of the cast and crew of the television series, to which the Home Alone director replied: “Jealous? No, it’s time to move on. I’ve always had issues with [the] idea of franchise. I feel like I’ve done it, I’m really proud of those films, the first three that I was involved with, and I’m moving on.”
However, the director did say he regretted not being able to develop the character of the poltergeist Peeves, which was cut in the films.
“We filmed the Peeves scenes, but it was a CGI character and we could never get it right. We could never design the scene or the character to any of our liking, so they were cut from the film. That’s the thing I’m probably most excited about in the HBO series, I want to see how they do Peeves,” Columbus said, adding that Rik Mayall, who played Peeves, “was fantastic”.
No actor playing Peeves for the television series has been announced yet, but most major characters from the books have been cast. The cast includes John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley.
On May 27, HBO announced that after auditioning more than 30,000 actors for the three main characters, Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry, Arabella Stanton will portray Hermione, and Alastair Stout will be Ron.
Columbus also recently shared his feelings on Rowling, saying he doesn’t agree with her opinions on transgender rights.
The 60-year-old author has been publicly criticised for her controversial statements about transgender people, including celebrating the UK Supreme Court’s April ruling that trans women are not legally women under the Equality Act and questioning the use of hormones for gender transitions. However, Rowling has denied being transphobic.
“I like to sometimes separate the artist from the art, I think that’s important to do,” Columbus told Variety on Monday. “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.”
