Chris Columbus reveals why a brand new Harry Potter movie is “unimaginable,” citing JK Rowling’s disagreements with crew members

Chris Columbus just lately weighed in on the creation of a brand new JK Rowling’s Harry Potter movie with the previous solid. Throughout an interview with The Instances U.Ok., the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker revealed that conflicts surrounding JK Rowling’s views and the solid’s differing opinions made such a reunion “unimaginable.”

“It’s by no means going to occur…It’s gotten so difficult with all of the political stuff. Everybody within the solid has their very own opinion, which is completely different from her opinion, which makes it unimaginable,” Columbus defined.

Chris Columbus additionally identified his personal distance from JK Rowling. Nevertheless, he emphasised that he nonetheless maintained an in depth relationship with the lead solid members, particularly Daniel Radcliffe.

“I haven’t spoken to Miss Rowling in a decade or so, so I do not know what’s occurring together with her, however I preserve very shut contact with Daniel Radcliffe and I simply spoke to him just a few days in the past. I nonetheless have an awesome relationship with all the youngsters within the solid,” Chris Columbus mentioned.

Through the interview, Columbus additional admitted that plans to adapt the Broadway hit Harry Potter and the Cursed Youngster had been deserted. The play, set practically twenty years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, adopted Harry’s second son, Albus Potter, who struggled together with his father’s legacy.

Chris Columbus defined it had turn into “too difficult” to stay related to the Wizarding World with out additionally being linked to JK Rowling’s controversies. This included her widespread backlash over her views on transgender points.

Reflecting on the way forward for the franchise, Columbus additionally dismissed HBO and Warner Bros. Tv’s upcoming Harry Potter collection. He added that it was uninspired, and “extra of the identical.”

He additional added that it was “troublesome imagining anybody else” taking up the enduring roles initially performed by Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, and Robbie Coltrane.

Chris Columbus weighs in on Harry Potter, HBO reboot, and JK Rowling whereas selling Netflix’s Thursday Homicide Membership

This wasn’t the primary time Chris Columbus weighed in on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise.

In response to a Selection report printed on August 25, 2025, whereas selling Netflix’s Thursday Homicide Membership in London, Chris Columbus spoke to the outlet and revealed why he had no real interest in revisiting the Wizarding World.

Explaining his stance, Columbus mentioned he felt his imaginative and prescient of the franchise had already been fulfilled.

“No, I’ve achieved it, you noticed my model…There’s nothing left for me to do on the planet of Potter,” he instructed Selection.

Regardless of stepping away from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise, Columbus on the time clarified that he wasn’t against the TV reboot. In truth, he admitted to feeling “jealous” of the chance it gave creators to develop on particulars the movies couldn’t seize.

Columbus highlighted a number of the missed alternatives in his films, referencing scenes and characters that followers by no means obtained to see. He identified how Peeves the poltergeist and the potions puzzle from The Sorcerer’s Stone needed to be lower for time.

“We may by no means get that unbelievable scene into the movie, and I’m certain it’ll be within the HBO collection. So for me, it’s a possibility to convey all these scenes to life” he mentioned.

Columbus additionally shared a nostalgic second when he noticed pictures from the HBO set, with Nick Frost as Hagrid and Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter.

Calling it a “deja vu” second, Columbus recalled filming Harry Potter in the identical London streets twenty years in the past with Daniel Radcliffe and Martin Bayfield, Robbie Coltrane’s stand-in.

Columbus additionally mirrored on Radcliffe’s progress from youngster star to award-winning actor. He revealed how classes from Dwelling Alone influenced the way in which the Harry Potter crew protected its younger solid. He defined that producers ensured mother and father had been as ready as their youngsters for the pressures of fame.

“We knew that the eyes of the world could be on these three youngsters,” he mentioned

Chris Columbus additionally remarked that watching Radcliffe’s evolution publish JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise and his profitable the Tony Award introduced him immense delight. For him, it was “exceptional” and “very transferring.”

Nevertheless, the director took a cautious stance when requested about JK Rowling’s controversial views.

Whereas acknowledging Rowling’s position because the creator of the Wizarding World, Columbus emphasised his disagreement together with her public statements. He even referred to as JK Rowling’s scenario “very unhappy.”

“I wish to generally separate the artist from the artwork, I feel that’s necessary to do,” the director added.

Chris Columbus’ newest challenge, The Thursday Homicide Membership, premiered on August 21 at Leicester Sq. in London, adopted by a restricted theatrical launch on August 22 throughout 30 choose cinema halls. The movie then made its streaming debut on Netflix on August 28, 2025.

In the meantime, followers of the Wizarding World can stay up for HBO’s extremely anticipated Harry Potter TV collection, which is slated to premiere in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max.

In the meantime, JK Rowling is targeted on her writing profession. Alongside publishing her Cormoran Strike crime fiction collection below the pen identify Robert Galbraith, she has additionally begun engaged on a “futuristic” ebook (as per Deadline).