Summary

• Director Chris Columbus expressed interest in making a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie, but the announcement of a Harry Potter TV reboot means it's probably unlikely to happen.
• Several original Harry Potter cast members have commented on the possibility of returning for The Cursed Child.
• Warner Bros. is expanding the Wizarding World franchise with new projects, including a Harry Potter TV series, which makes the possibility of a Cursed Child movie release date uncertain.

Could the HarryPotter franchise continue with a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie? While news of the new Harry Potter reboot TV show means any on-screen adaptation of the Harry Potter play probably won't follow on from the movies, there is still hope. Ever since the Harry Potter movie franchise's flash-forward epilogue in 2011, interest has been very high for more stories set in the Wizarding World. Those wishes for more were granted in the form of a two-part onstage sequel to the books, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, as well as the release of the Fantastic Beasts movie trilogy.

Promisingly, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child's chances were given a shot in the arm by Warner Bros.' announcement that they want to expand the Wizarding World franchise. Thanks to the resounding success of the Hogwarts Legacy video game, Warner Bros. has been paying close attention to the wider Wizarding World and its potential. Development on new projects was kept tightly under wraps until the announcement of the new Harry Potter television show, but with renewed interest in the world of HP, but persistent rumors have called out the possibility of a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie. Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the following (viaVariety):

Take Harry Potter as an example, the Wizarding World, the fact that we are enjoying this massive success with the Hogwarts Legacy launch, 12 years after the last film came out, shows that there is so much opportunity and we're only just starting to expand that. We've got the new Harry Potter tour coming up in Tokyo in the middle of the year. Long story short, I think this one-company approach, great leadership in the individual business units, but coordinated franchise management is probably one of the biggest opportunities the company has.

Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Movie: Key Background

Discussions Of A Cursed Child Movie Are Currently Speculative

As of now, a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie has not been confirmed. While J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. have both denied that a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie would ever happen, Wiedenfels' remarks rekindled old rumors. However, the announcement of the Harry Potter reboot television show has all but killed the prospect of a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie starring the original cast of the film series.

Key Quote:

"A version of Cursed Child with Dan, Rupert and Emma at the right age, it's cinematic bliss. If you're a film nerd or cinephile, it's kind of like what J.J. Abrams did with Star Wars... There's no question if you're a Star Wars fan, you were moved just seeing them on screen, seeing Harrison Ford as Han Solo again — and Chewy. I think that would be the same situation for Harry Potter fans. To able to actually see these adult actors now back in these roles? Oh, yeah. It would be amazingly fun to make that film — or two films." - Chris Columbus ,via THR

Outside of Chris Columbus' interest in making a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie, there was only speculation regarding Warner Bros. taking on the project. Director of the first two Harry Potter movies, Columbus first mentioned his interest in making a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie in 2021 (viaVariety). The interview itself was for a special 20th-anniversary celebration of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Columbus stated "I would love to direct The Cursed Child. It’s a great play and the kids are actually the right age to play those roles. It’s a small fantasy of mine."

While it's true that the Harry Potter trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint may have been an appropriate age to play their adult counterparts, the entirety of this Chris Columbus fantasy hinged on whether the cast wants to return. Unfortunately, that much remains unclear, particularly with some of the original cast publicly at odds with J. K. Rowling. Still, Puck's Matt Belloni has revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have plans to "go hard" on adapting The Cursed Child as part of a broader mission to expand the Wizarding World franchise.

A fake Harry Potter & The Cursed Child movie trailer from Teaser PRO has repeatedly sparked online rumors of a ninth Potter movie.

Though the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie might not be confirmed, a series reboot has been. HBO Max has confirmed that they will be rebooting the Harry Potter universe with a television series remake of J.K. Rowling's seven-book series, with an entirely new cast and each season of the upcoming show focusing on one book a piece. This inevitably makes it seem like a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie isn't happening, at least for the time being. A Cursed Child movie simply wouldn't be the same without the original cast, but with a new Harry Potter cast for the reboot TV show, it's possible that years down the line, they would be asked to return for Harry Potter's unofficial eighth installment.

Even with the lesser success of the Fantastic Beasts movies, the Wizarding World franchise is a hugely lucrative IP for Warner Bros. Given the movie and TV industry's current obsession with mining familiar IPs for further opportunities, the question of a Cursed Child movie still feels like a when, rather than an if. Nostalgia is an incredibly valuable currency in Hollywood, and Harry Potter movies pulled in a huge 9.58 billion dollars at the global box office. If Warner Bros aren't looking to make the movie, business logic suggests they absolutely should be, even with the TV reboot.

What The Original Harry Potter Cast Have Said About The Cursed Child Movie

Most of the Original Cast Would Not Return

While recasting the beloved original cast for the future of the Harry Potter franchise in a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie seemed unthinkable, the studio is doing just that for their Harry Potter television reboot. For the original movie plan, the characters are older in the play than the original golden trio actors; Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in their late 30s when the story takes place. The actors are all in their early 30s, still a bit too young to convincingly be just a stone's throw away from 40. But would they return? Some of the original Harry Potter cast have had something to say about a potential Cursed Child movie...

Daniel Radcliffe

Out of the entire cast, Harry Potter star himself Daniel Radcliffe has been the most adamant about the fact that he's not ready to jump back into his titular role yet. It's understandable, given that Harry Potter's the Boy Who Lived had a slow start in terms of Daniel Radcliffe's career outside of Harry Potter and has only just begun to shed the persona as a whole. The idea was brought up to the actor during an interview (viaThe New York Times).

Radcliffe responded to the idea with "I'm getting to a point where I feel like I made it out of Potter okay, and I'm really happy with where I am now,". He then went on to compare his role to that of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker and Harrison Ford as Han Solo, basically saying that they were allowed at least 30 years before returning to their defining parts. Regardless, Daniel Radcliffe's famed role will be taken over by a new actor for the upcoming Harry Potter television show, introducing new generations to a completely different iteration of Harry Potter's eponymous character.

Rupert Grint

Ron Weasley star Rupert Grint has revealed that he would agree to return "if the timing was right":

"I think if the timing was right and everyone was kinda coming back I’d definitely revisit it. It’s a character that’s important to me. I kinda grew up and we kinda became the same person. I feel quite protective of him as well.”

Previously comments to ITV's Good Morning Britain also suggested he'd be enthusiastic to return:

“I can’t really think of a reason not to. I love that character, I love that world. It’s a huge part of my life. I feel this kind of ownership of Ron in a weird way.”

Tom Felton

Of all the Harry Potter actors, Tom Felton seemed the most likely to return without question. In an interview (viaPeople), Felton displayed nothing but positivity about the possibility of returning to the Malfoy family after Harry Potter ended: "Any chance to be a Malfoy again would be greatly accepted." He also stated that the idea of someone else filling the role of Draco Malfoy would be hard to swallow, as he feels a bit of ownership over how he shaped the character over the course of a decade. Unfortunately for Felton, a new actor will be stepping into the shoes of Draco Malfoy for the Harry Potter reboot.

Bonnie Wright

Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) has said before that she would be willing as long as other cast members returned as well, and she offered more detail on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast. When he posed the question of a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie to her, Wright admitted she isn’t sure if the movie will be made, but she did say she would be game to participate with the idea that her role would be very small:

It would be pretty fun because it's really about the children. It's not about our characters, so it wouldn't be a massive role. It would really be about these kids and the new generation. It would be fun, but I have no idea if they'll do it.

Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Story

A Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie would've had an intriguing plot to say the least. Set 19 years later after the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie begins with 37-year-old parents Harry, Ron, and Hermione seeing their children off to Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4. The play continues Harry Potter’s story through his nervous son, Albus, following Albus Severus Potter as he uncovers secrets from his father’s past in a time-travel adventure.

On top of the original set of characters in the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie, the play also features Draco Malfoy’s son Scorpius, Hermione and Ron’s daughter Rose, as well as Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange’s surprise offspring Delphi. The time-travel aspect of the play would've made for a very engaging movie or TV series, both for loyal Potter fans and new audiences, by exploring much of the original story through a fresh lens.

The Harry Potter & The Cursed Child Fan Trailer That Sparked New Release Rumors

What HBO's Harry Potter Reboot Means For The Cursed Child Movie

In April 2023 news broke that Warner Bros. and HBO are officially making a Harry Potter television series. With J.K. Rowling executive producing, the new Harry Potter show will be a reboot of the original Harry Potter books, with one season retelling one book a piece, making for over a decade-long commitment for the network. With WB. planning to reboot the Wizarding World and tell the original tales anew, this raises questions about a potential Cursed Child movie. Especially one that follows on directly from the original Harry Potter movies and the epilogue laid out in The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

However, rebooting the Harry Potter movies as a TV series doesn't mean Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will never make it to screens. The movie still hasn't been confirmed, and renewed interest in the Wizarding World could make a Cursed Child film more, rather than less, likely. There's also every possibility it could emerge years down the line as a show of its own if HBO's Harry Potter venture is successful. In any case, while there's not been much movement on a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie, there's still much to look forward to from the Wizarding World.