Harry Potter star Tom Felton has bad news for fans: he doubts the original cast will ever return in new movies. Despite having come to an end in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, author J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful book and film franchise still continues to grow.
It only took five years after the final film installment for Rowling to write new adventures within the so-called Potterverse. With eight films over the course of 10 years, many fans grew up with the wizards Harry, Hermione, and Ron. As a result, millions of fans were sad to say goodbye when the movies ended. The books and films left a special mark on fans as well as popular culture, and Rowling herself has admitted on numerous occasions how difficult it was to say goodbye to her characters. However, by 2016, two new adventures in the Potterverse became a reality. A film based on the author’s short 2001 guidebook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, arrived in theatres (with scripting duties going to Rowling), and a stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was put on in London’s illustrious West End. The play, which takes place 19 years after the events of Deathly Hallows, has left some Potter fans hoping that the original cast might one day reunite for another movie.
Fan reunion rumors have persisted despite Rowling’s insistence that Cursed Child is meant to be staged as a play and will not be adapted into a film. Unfortunately for fans, the possibility of a new film has become even more remote. ComicBook.com reports that during a recent interview with Tom Felton (who played Potter nemesis Draco Malfoy in the film series), the Harry Potter star cast doubts on rumors of an additional film with the original cast. Said Felton, “How much you offering? I’m joking. I don’t think it will be reprised, to be honest with you. I think it was a wonderful eight chapters, and everything that needed to be done was done.” After adding that Warner Bros. will now take the franchise “further on in their own direction”, Felton said, “But we’re all still immensely proud to be a part of it, and we’re glad it’s still as popular as it once was.”
Aside from hopes that the original cast would reunite for one more film, some fans are also eager for the Potter series to reboot altogether. While this is a potentially divisive topic for devoted fans of the original movies, Harry Potter remains an incredibly valuable franchise. Now, fans will have to speculate as to whether Felton’s comment regarding Warner Bros. taking the franchise “further on in their own direction” was in reference to the Fantastic Beasts series or the possibility of a Harry Potter reboot.
“We’re all still very close with each other, and every year we grow, we see the fandom seemingly only rising. Most of the fans that approach me now weren’t even born when we made the films, so it’s great to see it passed down from generation to generation,” Felton said. “I can speak for all the cast when I say we’re very grateful for all the support that’s come our way over the last decade or so.”
Given Rowling’s ongoing love for the characters and worlds she so meticulously created, it’s possible that there may one day be a big-screen adaptation of Cursed Child. The Harry Potter author did not write the script for the play, but with her recent experience as screenwriter for Fantastic Beasts, she may yet write more screenplays for the Potterverse. For now, Felton’s comments strongly suggest that the original Harry Potter cast really has left the franchise for good.
Next: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Movie Updates: Will It Happen?
Source: Comic Book
