'Harry Potter' Director Chris Columbus Drops Harsh Reality Check About Reboot Series

Is HBO's "Harry Potter" series going to be a huge bust?

via: Pink News

Former Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has said he doesn’t understand ‘the point’ of the Wizarding World’s upcoming HBO reboot.

The acclaimed director, known for his work on Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter films, said after seeing set photos of the upcoming TV show, that he felt the series was going to be “more of the same.”

“Part of me was like, what’s the point?” he said. “Part of me was like, okay, great. I thought everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same. Which is interesting.”

Speaking on the podcast The Rest is Entertainment, the 66-year-old director was asked by co-host Richard Osman whether he was “jealous” that the multimedia series was being rebooted for television.

He responded: “I’m not jealous. I’m so beyond it. I did it. My feeling is, OK, I’ve done that, it’s time to move on.

“I’ve always had issues with the idea of franchise after franchise. When we did Gremlins and Goonies and those films, that’s why I never did the second Gremlins film. My attitude then was: I’ve done it, it’s time to move on and do something different. Same with Potter.”

HBO’s reboot of Harry Potter has garnered controversy over its association with author JK Rowling, who is executive producer for the project and is well known for her controversial and outspoken views about the trans community, including her wish to exclude trans women from women’s spaces.

Columbus’ latest comments came just days after he told Variety that he thinks Rowling’s views are “very sad.” Columbus said: “I like to separate the artist from the art, I think that’s important to do. It’s unfortunate, what’s happened. I certainly don’t agree with what she’s talking about. It’s just sad, very sad.”

Stars involved in the series, including John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, and Nick Frost, have all faced backlash for agreeing to star in the show.

Discussing Nick Frost’s role as Hagrid, Columbus remarked that the actor’s costume looked remarkably similar to that of the original two films.

“I could be wrong … he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid,” he said.

“It’s very flattering for me because 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. But part of it is sort of deja vu all over again.”