Filmmaker Chris Columbus says he has no desire to be involved in HBO’s reboot of the “Harry Potter” franchise.
Columbus helped launch the films over twenty years ago, serving as director of the first two films and producing the third. He played a key role in casting many of the franchise’s major roles.
Appearing in London to promote Netflix’s “Thursday Murder Club,” he tells Variety that he’s done with the franchise: “No, I’ve done it, you saw my version. There’s nothing left for me to do in the world of Potter.”
However, he’s not against the project either. In fact, he’s jealous of the one limitation they won’t face that his films did – time: “The great thing about it is that with the first and second and third book, we wanted to do it all. We wanted to bring all of that onto the screen, and we didn’t have the opportunity.”
He goes on to talk about elements like the ghost Peeves, or the scene where Harry and Hermione have to drink potions and worry they may be poisoned. He says the show is “an opportunity to bring all those scenes to life”.
As for author J.K. Rowling, who has become a figure of controversy in the years since, he says: “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.”
