There are no plans to make a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie with the original film stars, despite what an unsubstantiated viral rumor claims. A Warner Bros. spokesperson already debunked the claim, and it’s unlikely Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, or Emma Watson would want to play those roles again. Radcliffe, who has set on a vibrant post-Harry Potter career, has already said he’s not interested in going backward.
Back on Feb. 15, The Sun reported that Warner Bros. was developing a film based on The Cursed Child due to the play’s popularity in the West End. An unnamed source told the outlet that the idea “went on the back burner” while the studio worked on the Fantastic Beasts movies. But since the last Fantastic Beasts was a disappointment, it was “full steam ahead” for The Cursed Child movie. The source claims Warner Bros. even wants to split The Cursed Child into two movies.
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“At the moment it is in very formative stages and they are discussing the next steps to move it forward,” the source claimed. “The dream would be to have major stars returning, including Daniel Radcliffe, but that is still incredibly far off. Everyone who works within the Harry world wants Daniel to be back, but first, they have to iron out the plan for how many films it will be a reworked script and budgets.”
Nowhere in this quote is it said that “Daniel Radcliffe is going to play Harry Potter again.” However, that doesn’t stop social media. On Instagram, one post claiming that the movie “is in the works with all 3 major stars” has over 1.4 million likes. A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson later told The Mirror that The Sun‘s report “is false.”
While Radcliffe, Grint, Watson, and other members of the cast reunited for the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts HBO Max special in 2022, all three stars have moved on to eclectic careers. Even after Christopher Columbus, who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, told Variety he dreams about making a movie based on The Cursed Child, Radcliffe told The New York Times he’s not interested.
“This isn’t the answer that anybody’s going to want, but I think I was so able to go back and enjoy it because it’s not a part of my day-to-day life anymore,” Radcliffe explained while promoting The Lost City. “I’m getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of Potter OK and I’m really happy with where I am now, and to go back would be such a massive change to my life. I’m never going to say never, but the Star Wars guys had like 30, 40 years before they went back. For me, it’s only been 10. It’s not something I’m really interested in doing right now.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened at London’s Palace Theatre in July 2016 and was written by Jack Thorne, based on a story by Thorne, J.K. Rowling, and John Tiffany. A one-part version of the play is also running at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ efforts to continue mining Rowling’s Wizarding World for movies have stalled after Fantastic Beasts:
The Secrets of Dumbledore was a box-office disappointment last year. A source told Variety in November 2022 that there were “no active” discussions with Rowling to make another Potter movie.
