Original Harry Potter Director Calls HBO Reboot a 'Spectacular Idea'

Original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has praised the upcoming HBO reboot series as a "spectacular idea" due to its potential to better recreate the books. In a conversation with People, Columbus highlighted the limitations he faced when directing "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," due to the films' relatively short runtimes. He explained that the team endeavored to include as much of the book content as possible, but time constraints made it challenging.

"I think it's a spectacular idea because there’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film," Columbus remarked. "Our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long. The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that's fantastic. You can get all the stuff in the series that we didn't have an opportunity to do... All these great scenes that we just couldn't put in the films."

Announced in April 2023, the Harry Potter show is set to be a "faithful adaptation" of the novels, aiming to tell a more "in-depth" story than what can be achieved in a two-hour film. The project will be helmed by Succession producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, with the latter also having contributed to Game of Thrones.

HBO is currently casting for the roles of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Meanwhile, Gary Oldman, who originally played Sirius Black, humorously suggested he might be the right age to portray Dumbledore, following his debut in "The Prisoner of Azkaban" two decades ago. Actor and playwright Mark Rylance is reportedly at the top of the casting wishlist for the role of Hogwarts headmaster, aligning with the original films' preference for British actors. This decision comes as no surprise given that controversial original author J.K. Rowling is "fairly involved" in the casting process.

Filming for the Harry Potter TV show is expected to commence in spring 2025, with HBO aiming for a release in 2026.