Key Insights

• Director’s Departure: Chris Columbus has stepped back from the Harry Potter franchise after directing the first two films.
• Support for Adaptations: Columbus supports the upcoming TV adaptations, emphasizing the opportunity to explore the story in greater depth.
• Unrealized Scenes: He highlights specific scenes that were not included in the films, which he believes will be featured in the new series.
• Box Office Success: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone remains one of Columbus’ highest-grossing films, second only to Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

It’s fair to say that without Chris Columbus, the wizarding world of Harry Potter wouldn’t have become what it had. But helming both Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets turned out to be enough for the director, who has good reason for not being involved in the franchise’s future, especially the forthcoming TV adaptations.

So why is Chris Columbus choosing to don the invisibility cloak when it comes to the Harry Potter series? As he told Variety, “I’ve done it, you saw my version. There’s nothing left for me to do in the world of Potter.”

Even still, Chris Columbus is actively supporting the Harry Potter series, the first season of which – based on the first book, establishing the pacing of the show – is riding its broomstick towards an early 2027 release. One main reason is that allowing a season to develop over eight episodes permits the showrunners to explore Hogwarts in a way that a two-and-a-half-hour movie could. “The great thing about it is that with the first and second and third book, we wanted to do it all. We wanted to bring all of that onto the screen, and we didn’t have the opportunity.”

Chris Columbus particularly cited a scene where Harry Potter and Hermione Granger grow concerned that the potions they drank may be poisoned. “We could never get that incredible scene into the film, and I’m sure it’ll be in the HBO series. So for me, it’s an opportunity to bring all those scenes to life.” Columbus also noted that his first movie just didn’t have time for a poltergeist named Peeves, set to be played by Drop Dead Fred’s Rik Mayall.

Kicking off the franchise, 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone would surpass 1990’s Home Alone as Chris Columbus’ top earner at the box office; worldwide it even stands as the second-highest-grossing movie in the Harry Potter series, with its $962 million trailing only the conclusion, Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

Do you think HBO’s Harry Potter series can match the magic of the movie franchise? Leave (not leaveee) your thoughts in the comments section below.