Chris Columbus, the director who brought the first two Harry Potter films to life, has shared his enthusiastic support for HBO's upcoming television adaptation of the beloved magical series.
Columbus, who directed "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (2001) and "Chamber of Secrets" (2002), praised the television format's ability to include more content from the original books. "It's a spectacular idea," Columbus told PEOPLE, noting that the film format's time constraints limited how much material could be included from J.K. Rowling's extensive novels.
"The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that's fantastic," Columbus explained. "You can get all the stuff in the series that we didn't have an opportunity to do...all these great scenes that we just couldn't put in the films."
When asked about fan suggestions of casting Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer") as Lord Voldemort, Columbus expressed enthusiasm. "Well, Cillian is one of my favorite actors, so that would be amazing," he said. Former Voldemort actor Ralph Fiennes has also backed this casting suggestion, calling it "wonderful" during a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
The TV adaptation, announced in 2021, is moving forward with "Succession" director Mark Mylod and writer Francesca Gardiner ("His Dark Materials") at the helm. The production team has already begun casting calls in the UK and Ireland for young actors aged 9-11 to play Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
While the original film trio - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint - are not expected to return, J.K. Rowling remains involved in the project, particularly in selecting key creative personnel. HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys has indicated that Rowling will likely have input on casting decisions as well.
This television adaptation marks the first small-screen version of the Harry Potter series, following successful adaptations across films, stage productions, video games, and theme park attractions.