Alfonso Cuarón Talks Directing and Why He’d Love to Do Another “Harry Potter” Film

Alfonso Cuarón, known by most Harry Potter fans for directing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, has revealed that he would love to direct another Potter film. Recently nominated for six BAFTA awards (among others) for his film Roma, Cuarón certainly hasn’t lost his magical touch.

Even though Cuarón would jump at the opportunity to work on a Potter film again, he wasn’t initially very thrilled about directing Prisoner of Azkaban until director Guillermo del Toro convinced him to do it. Now, Cuarón can’t believe he ever hesitated.

I would love — I mean, that [Harry Potter] universe, anything that J.K. Rowling does, I would love to do.

Fans hoping that Cuarón might direct some of the upcoming Fantastic Beasts films might be a bit bummed to learn that David Yates, who has directed both films so far, has already signed for the third film and confirmed that he would do the movies that follow. But things are not set in stone – Cuarón might get a chance somewhere along the line. With all the awards he picked up this year, he certainly is a force to be reckoned with.

On his critically acclaimed film Roma, Cuarón says that he didn’t expect it to do as well as it did this awards season.

It’s incredible. I mean, it’s very unexpected. I just think it’s a film, a Mexican film in black-and-white, [with] non-recognizable names, and it’s been embraced by fans all around the world. It’s something I definitely didn’t expect.

Cuarón recently joined the first episode of this year’s Director Roundtable with fellow directors Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Creed), Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), Marielle Heller (The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), and Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, BlacKkKlansman) to discuss various topics, such as the politics of art and how they conquer actors’ fears. They also shared what they learned in film school and discussed elements that can ruin a project.

During the roundtable, Cuarón shared some of his experiences as a director.

It has its days – it’s an intense experience. It’s a long process with so many things that can go wrong. I think the biggest thing is knowing that whatever you’re going to do is going to be there forever. When they ask me at the end of a film if I’m happy, I’m never happy – I’m relieved.

Upon being asked whether he thinks a film should have a message or not, Cuarón was clear that whatever you do with a film, a message will be inevitable.

That’s not an option, because everything we do is going to convey a message, it is going to convey an ideology, it’s going to convey a message of politics one way or the other, even if you don’t intend to do that.

It’s hard to believe that one can be relieved after directing a Harry Potter film instead of breaking out in tears over the fact that it’s over, but Cuarón’s relief was definitely not for nothing. Looking back at the film’s success, it is clear that asking him to direct another Potter film would most certainly not be a mistake.