It’s been 20 years since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone landed in theaters, kicking Pottermania into overdrive and launching the careers of actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, who played Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
The Harry Potter movies, as well as the books by J.K. Rowling, are beloved to this day, and movie studios are still trying to cash in with spinoffs. But the Fantastic Beasts movies haven’t been as successful as Warner Bros. would like. Some fans are wondering when we might get to see Harry, Ron and Hermione back together. After all, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child — a play that picks up with the so-called Golden Trio 19 years after the book series — has been a hit on stage. So why not make a movie of that and hire Radcliffe, Grint and Watson to star in it?
As it ends up, Chris Columbus — who directed the first two Harry Potter movies before making way for other directors — is thinking exactly along those lines. “I would love to direct The Cursed Child,” Columbus told Variety. “It’s a great play and the kids are actually the right age to play those roles. It’s a small fantasy of mine.”
Will Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson return for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child?
It seems like such a sure bet, right? Get the stars of the original movie to come back for a new story that’s already proven a hit on stage. There are some complications, though. For one thing, stage producers are generally hesitant to allow Hollywood to make movie versions of plays that are still packing in audiences, the fear being that if there’s a screen adaptation out there people won’t see it on stage. That’s why it’s taken Wicket nearly 20 years for Hollywood to finally get going on a Wicked movie.
The other tricky bit is that it could be hard to get Radcliffe, Grint and Watson to reprise their roles. They seem willing to entertain the possibility, but none appear chomping at the bit. And if they know their worth to Warner Bros., they’ll ask a lot to board that train back to Hogwarts.
All that said, I think it’ll happen sooner or later. But if Warner Bros. wants to get the Golden Trio back at the perfect age, they’d be better to make it sooner.
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