Twenty years after directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chris Columbus says he wants to direct a film adaptation of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And he wants the original cast to come on board with him.
In an interview with Variety, Chris Columbus reflected on his experience filming the original Harry Potter film and shared his desire to bring the play to the big screen. “I would love to direct The Cursed Child,” Columbus said. “It’s a great play and the kids are the right age to play those roles. It’s a small fantasy of mine”
This statement is debatable, to say the least. None of the actors are nineteen years older than seventeen years of age. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco Malfoy are in their forties in the play, while the actors who played the characters in the film (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Tom Felton) are in their early thirties. Then again, we saw them all aged with special effects at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, so perhaps Columbus could use such special effects in a Cursed Child adaptation.
Tom Felton has said he would play Draco Malfoy again, and Rupert Grint has said he’d be open to being Ron Weasley again if the other actors would return. Emma Watson on the other hand has expressed apprehension in recent years, and Daniel Radcliffe is vague about where he stands on the matter.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that divides Harry Potter fans. While some agree with Columbus’ high view of the play, others hate the story so much that they refuse to consider it canon. Nevertheless, given the lasting popularity of the Harry Potter franchise, it is inevitable that the play will eventually receive a big-screen adaptation at some point.
Harry Potter fans, it’s time for you to weigh in. Do you want to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child adapted into a movie? Do you like the play, or do you hate the story? Is Chris Columbus the right man for the job? Talk to us in the comments, and check out our ranking of all the films in the franchise?