Chris Columbus, the acclaimed director behind the first two Harry Potter film adaptations, says that he doesn’t think the beloved franchise needs a reboot. After eight films, the series came to an end in 2011, 24 years from the publication of the first Harry Potter novel by author J.K. Rowling. In the years since the franchise came to an end, a spin-off series has been created along with a successful theatrical adaptation that imagines Harry and Ginny dealing with life as parents, 19 years after the events of Deathly Hallows.
Yet as successful as the franchise has proved itself to be, there has been no shortage of challenging moments in recent years, particularly for Rowling, whose standing with many fans has dwindled after comments she made regarding the trans community. In the wake of these incidents, there has been consistent chatter regarding the potential for rebooting the entire series. While some of the films’ original stars see the realization of this possibility inevitable, the thought of new actors playing favorites Harry, Hermione, and Ron (not to mention the remainder of the cherished cast) rubs many fans the wrong way.
As it turns out, it isn’t just the fans who have strong feelings regarding the idea of a new take on Rowling’s material. As Collider has revealed, Columbus, whose filmmaking played a major role in contributing to the rich on-screen world that the franchise became known for, has said that he doesn’t see the point in rebooting any of it. The comments came during a recent interview when the 63-year-old filmmaker was asked if he thought the films would ever be remade, as well as whether or not they should be remade:
“I can’t answer the first… I don’t know. In this version of Hollywood that we live in, everybody is remaking everything, and rebooting everything. I mean, there’s a Home Alone reboot coming out. What’s the point? The movie exists, let’s just live with the movie that existed. There’s no point in us remaking The Wizard of Oz, there’s no point in any of us remaking the classic films. Make something original, because we need more original material. So, no point.”
Columbus’ comments come as development on a live-action Harry Potter TV series reportedly continues at HBO, and the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy video game promises gamers the opportunity to explore the famed wizarding academy 100 years before the adventures of Harry and his friends. In other words, there’s plenty of life left in the franchise, but there’s no doubt that studios are always looking for ways to maximize the earning potential of their IPs. There seems to be an undercurrent of frustration in Columbus’ words, and this is understandable given how much went into getting the Potter film franchise to where it is today. His argument that remaking classics is basically a waste of time is a valid one, as most Potter fans would arguably rather see new creations within the franchise instead of attempting to recreate the magic of the original films.
Columbus’ reference to Home Alone, another franchise in which he directed the first two entries, is a timely one. The recent trailer for Home Sweet Home Alone led many fans of the original to accuse Disney of simply rehashing classic elements with little effort toward adding anything new. Rebooting something as vast and extensive as the Harry Potter series is a gargantuan undertaking, and while portions of the Columbus’ entries suffer from CGI that hasn’t aged particularly well, the bottom line remains that the series is perfect the way it is and Columbus doesn’t stand alone in wanting to keep it that way.
Source: Collider