Chris Columbus, the director behind the first two Harry Potter films, has confirmed he will not be involved in HBO’s upcoming television reboot of JK Rowling’s novels. Speaking to Variety, Columbus said: “No, I’ve done it, you saw my version. There’s nothing left for me to do in the world of Potter.”
Columbus directed The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets and produced The Prisoner of Azkaban. He expressed positivity about the reboot, noting that the original films could not include everything from the books. Characters such as Peeves the poltergeist were cut from the movies, something Columbus previously told Radio Times he regretted.
He also addressed the controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s views on transgender rights, describing it as “very sad”. Columbus said: “I like to sometimes separate the artist from the art, I think that’s important to do. It’s unfortunate, what’s happened. I certainly don’t agree with what she’s talking about.”
Rowling has faced criticism from LGBTQ+ charities after publishing a lengthy statement on sex and gender in 2020. In 2024 she posted on X that “there are no trans kids”, and in 2025 she launched the JK Rowling Women’s Fund, offering legal funding for those “fighting to retain women’s sex-based rights”.
Several Harry Potter actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, have publicly supported the transgender community. Others, such as Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter, have defended Rowling.
The HBO series is currently filming and is expected to air in 2027. Each season will adapt one of Rowling’s seven books.
