Home Entertainment Warner Bros pursuing Danielle Radcliffe for HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD film adaptation

Warner Bros pursuing Danielle Radcliffe for HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD film adaptation

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Love it or hate it, the name Harry Potter has practically become a license to print money. And that is money that Warner Bros know all too well. Despite Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the new stage play written by creator JK Rowling, receiving underwhelming reviews from some hardcore fans, it seems that the studio wants to bring the story to the cinema screen as well. And if the NY Times report is accurate, the studio is looking for its big star Daniel Radcliffe to return for not just one, but three movies.

Yes, you read that right – three movies. The studio is hoping to turn the play into a trilogy and expand on the story even further. Now, sometimes I wish I had the abilities of Professor X to telepathically see what these board meetings might be like and what goes through the studio heads’ minds when they think these things through. And if I could give them an imaginary slap over the head when they think of ideas like that, I would. Unfortunately, I am not Professor X (or at least not that I’m admitting), so I can only speculate on their reasoning.

Those studio execs have clearly never watched The Hobbit movies, which despite being fun, had a narrative so stretched out that it was almost laughable. They did however make loads of money, which is probably all that matters to these folks. The idea of turning one short book into three movies is not a good idea. Turning a stage play into three movies, is even less so. Alas, I clearly don’t have what it takes to be a movie producer then.

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For the uninitiated, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is set years after the events of the books and movies, with Harry’s second son, Albus Severus Potter, the titular Cursed Child, going on his own adventure at Hogwarts. Here’s the official synopsis:

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

Now, I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan. I have never read the books and only ever watched the movies and I was kind of relieved when it all ended. However, Harry Potter fans are some of the most fanatical that you are likely to find in the movie world (Star Wars fans aside). As such, I have no doubt that if anyone should play the role of Harry Potter in the movies, fans will want to see Daniel Radcliffe being brought back to take on whoever it is that is the enemy in this new play. So, it’s no surprise the studio is doing their best to rope him back in.

The news report doesn’t talk much about the other big stars from the film returning (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson), though I wouldn’t be surprised if they will try that as well. Though, if they can’t secure Radcliffe, then I guess there is no point going after the others, so they want to secure him first to make a convincing argument for the other two to join in.

Now Radcliffe has previously said that he in no way wants to reprise his role for the stage play. However, the appeal of film may be a stronger pull this time and might convince him to change his mind. He has said his Potter days are behind him, but with the money the studio is likely to offer, I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to join up again.

And you would think fans would be jumping for joy for more Harry Potter, but you would be wrong. Fans have already started responding to this news with criticism, as they actually don’t want to see the stage play adapted into a movie, because the play deviated too much from the canon. Considering that Rowling is the author of the canon, she pretty much has liberty to change it any way she wants, so no complaints from me there. Needless to say though, it does all smell of cheap cash-in and I have no doubt that making another set of films will ruin what most fans were already happy with.

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And it’s not as if the studio doesn’t already have other Harry Potter things in the works.  WB is currently working on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and its already greenlit two sequels, with the first film releasing on November 18, 2016. The story is set 70 years before Harry Potter first set foot in Hogwarts and while Rowling hasn’t exactly written a lot of material around this either, it makes sense that if they really wanted to expand on the cinematic universe without interfering with the other films, it would be to create more origin stories.

Are you a huge Harry Potter fan? Would you like to see more of the characters brought to cinema or should they leave the films the way they are?

Last Updated: August 31, 2016

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