Filmmaker Chris Columbus, who directed the first two ‘Harry Potter’ films, has a surprising reaction to HBO’s TV series.
The upcoming series will star actor Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley.
Nick Frost will play Hagrid, while John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, and Luke Thallon are also part of the cast.
As filming continues on the show in London, Chris Columbus, who launched the blockbuster cinematic franchise, has said that he wanted nothing to do with the HBO show.
During an interview with a US media outlet, the filmmaker criticised the show for being the same as the films.
“I looked online and there are photographs of Nick Frost as Hagrid with the new Harry Potter. And he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like: ‘What’s the point?’ I thought everything [on the HBO show] the costumes and everything was going to be different. It’s more of the same,” Columbus said.
Read more: Harry Potter HBO series shares first look at Dominic McLaughlin as the boy wizard
He continued, “It’s very flattering for me, because I’m like: That’s exactly the Hagrid costume that we designed. So part of it is really exciting. I’m excited to see what they’re going to do with it. Part of it is sort of déjà vu all over again.”
The filmmaker maintained that he did not associate himself with ‘Harry Potter’ show due to his issues with the ‘idea of franchise’.
“I’m so beyond it. I did it. I’ve done that, it’s time to move on. I’ve always had issues with the idea of franchise. When we did Gremlins and Goonies — that’s why I didn’t do the second Gremlins film,” Chris Columbus said.
