Original “Harry Potter” Cast and Crew Members React to New HBO Series – Part 4

The up-and-coming Harry Potter TV show, which is set to stream on HBO, is getting a lot of attention from fans and Potter alumni alike. Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, where we’ve already covered lots of Harry Potter cast and crew reactions to the new show.

Now, we’ve got even more to share. Read on to discover the thoughts of the first two Potter directors – Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón – as well as Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas), Fiona Shaw (Aunt Petunia), and Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort).

Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus – director of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – was the first to bring to life the world of Harry Potter on screen, setting up the wizarding world as we know and love it.

It’s a hard thing to match, but Columbus told People the TV show is a “spectacular idea, because there’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film.” He pointed out the runtimes of the first two films were two hours and 30 minutes and two hours and 40 minutes, respectively, and explained that they “tried to get as much of the book in as possible.” The TV show will ultimately be able to squeeze in many more of the books’ plots, as Columbus discussed: 

The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that’s fantastic. 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.

 

Alfonso Cuarón

Cuarón took over from Columbus and directed Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Speaking to CinemaBlend, he too commented on how the length of a film just doesn’t allow for the whole of the plot to be explored, stating that the TV show is going to be a “completely different experience” from the films. 

Alfred Enoch

With no actors officially confirmed for the series yet, the question that’s being put to many Potter actors in interviews is whether they would consider joining the TV series as a different character. For actors like Alfred Enoch, who played Hogwarts student Dean Thomas in the Potter films, the TV reboot offers up a new generation of characters to be played.

In an interview with ScreenRant, Enoch expressed interest in playing one of the Hogwarts professors, especially a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, though he didn’t divulge which one. “That’s only a one-season job, isn’t it?” he mused.

Fiona Shaw

It’s going to be hard to live up to Fiona Shaw’s Aunt Petunia, but someone will be stepping into the shoes of Harry’s aunt. When asked by People how she felt about the reboot, Shaw jokingly exclaimed, “How dare you!”

She continued, regarding the new cast, “I wish them well. I mean, can stories be retold? They must be retold over time. It seems to me no time [has passed] since we told it, but maybe it’s [for] a whole new generation.”

Ralph Fiennes

When asked by a fan his thoughts on the idea of Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer, Peaky Blinders) taking over as Voldemort in the TV reboot, Fiennes expressed his delight at the prospect:

Cillian is a fantastic actor. I actually think that’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian.

With many casting rumors swirling, such as Mark Rylance being considered for Dumbledore and Paapa Essiedu reportedly on the cards to play Severus Snape, it’s only a matter of time until we’ll get some answers. But while we wait for those answers, we will continue to bring you the reactions of original Harry Potter cast and crew members – stay tuned!