Chris Columbus is eager to see what’s next for the Harry Potter universe.
In an exclusive interview at the Los Angeles premiere of Nosferatu, the director, 66, shared his excitement about the upcoming Harry Potter television series being adapted for HBO. The series is set to follow the success of the original films, two of which Columbus directed.
“I think it’s a spectacular idea, because there’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film,” Columbus remarked.
He referenced the runtime of the first two Harry Potter films, noting, “Our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long,” referring to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), respectively.
Columbus explained that, during the making of the films, he and the team worked hard to include as much from J.K. Rowling’s books as possible.
However, with the upcoming HBO series, which will be a multi-episode format, there’s an opportunity to dive deeper into the material, with more room for scenes and plot points that were previously left out of the films.
“The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that’s fantastic,” Columbus said. “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.”
The director, also known for Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and Mrs. Doubtfire, added, “I look forward to seeing what they’re trying to do with it. I think it’s great.”
As casting and production for the TV series are still in progress, fans have already begun to speculate about who they would like to see in the iconic roles.
One popular fan casting that has gained traction online is for actor Cillian Murphy to play the villainous Lord Voldemort, a role originally portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the Harry Potter films.
“Well, Cillian is one of my favorite actors, so that would be amazing,” Columbus shared. Fiennes, 62, even voiced his support for Murphy, 48, taking on the role during an episode of Watch What Happens Live, stating, “Cillian is a fantastic actor … I would be all in favor of Cillian.”
All eight Harry Potter films are currently available to stream.
