Film director Christopher Columbus has asked what the point of HBO’s Harry Potter reboot is during a podcast appearance.
The filmmaker, who directed both Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, says the HBO reboot, set for release in 2027, is more a moment of déjà vu than anything else. In an appearance on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, Columbus shared he was “beyond” caring about the series and that it was “time to move on.” The veteran filmmaker, who also directed The Goonies and Gremlins, says he “always had issues” with repeating films and franchise features, and it appears the Harry Potter series is no exception. The Rest is Entertainment co-host Richard Osman asked Columbus what he thought of the upcoming reboot, which has left him unimpressed.
He shared: “I’m not jealous. I’m so beyond it. I did it. My feeling is, okay, I’ve done that, it’s time to move on. I’ve always had issues with the idea of franchise after franchise. When we did Gremlins and Goonies and those films, that’s why I never did the second Gremlins film.
“My attitude then was: I’ve done it, it’s time to move on and do something different. Same with Potter. 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.”
Though Columbus may have moved on from the series, he did ask what the point of rebooting the series was. Speaking of the costume design for Hagrid, who will be portrayed by Nick Frost, Columbus suggested HBO were doing the “exact same” as he did on the original series.
He shared: “As of yesterday, I saw photographs online of Nick Frost as Hagrid. Now, that’s not Nick Frost – that’s presumably still Martin, I don’t remember his last name – a rugby player who played Hagrid with a giant sort of fake rubber Hagrid head that we sometimes replaced with CGI.
“So I’m seeing these photographs of, now it looks like Martin – I could be wrong – wearing a Nick Frost head, walking down the streets of London. And he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid.
“Part of me was like, what’s the point? Part of me was like, okay, great. I thought everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same, which is interesting.
“It’s very flattering for me because 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. But part of it is sort of déjà vu all over again.”
Frost has been cast alongside John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, and Janet McTeer. An eight-episode first season is scheduled for release in early 2027, with plans to run the series for ten consecutive years.
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