Max‘s TV remake of the “Harry Potter” series won’t hit the streamer until 2026, which gives fans of the character plenty of time to speculate about the show. For instance, beyond rehashing a successful IP in a blatant cash-grab maneuver, why should this series exist? That’s a topic for another piece, however. A milder query would be about the potential involvement of the original Warner Bros. film series. Will Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and others show up in cameos or small roles?
EW reports (via E! News) that fans shouldn’t get their hopes up, at least not for Radcliffe. “I don’t think so,” the actor told the outlet in a new interview about his appearance in the upcoming TV series. “I think they very wisely want to [have] a clean break. And I don’t know if it would work to have us do anything in it.” Not that Radcliffe much wants to return to the “Harry Potter” universe in the first place; he’s moved on in his career since “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2” hit theaters in 2011. Instead, he’d be “very happy to just watch along with everyone else.” Radcliffe’s comments follow up similar ones he made to Comicbook.com last July. “I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way,” he said of the series in that interview, adding that “I’m very excited to have that torch passed.”
But Radcliffe’s modest, reasonable answer wasn’t enough for E! News, and they pressed further. What if the team at Max figured out the perfect way for the actor to return? Said Radcliffe: “I’m gonna be a politician about this and not deal in hypotheticals.” A wise move on his part. But maybe that hypothetical becomes a real possibility if the actor’s current mix of TV shows, stage work, and voice acting in recent years hits a lull. It’d be refreshing to see the next iteration of “Harry Potter” avoid fan service, but with Warner Bros. wanting (even needing) the Max series to be a hit, they may pull out all the necessary stops to make it happen.
WBD CEO David Zaslav first announced the upcoming Max series back in early 2023, and provided an update on the show’s development on a February 2024 earnings call. On the call, Zaslav confirmed he met with HBO and Max content boss Casey Bloys, Warner Bros. Television chair Channing Dungey, and series creator J.K. Rowling in London about the series a few weeks earlier. “We’ve not been shy about our excitement around “Harry Potter,”” Zaslav said. “The last film was made more than a dozen years ago. I was in London a few weeks ago with Casey and Channing and we spent some real time with J.K. and her team. Both sides are thrilled to be reigniting this franchise.” But Zaslav didn’t add anything else about the show, only that Warner Bros. targets the show to premiere sometime in 2026.
So what else do fans know about the new “Harry Potter” TV series? The Max show will adapt Rowling’s original series book by book over seven seasons as faithfully as possible. Rowling is also on board as an executive producer, which stoked ire from some fans due to the author’s controversial anti-trans stance. Radcliffe hasn’t shied away from talking about Rowling’s transphobia in interviews over the years, and did so again in a recent interview with The Atlantic. “It makes me really sad, ultimately,” he told the publication, “because I do look at the person that I met, the times that we met, and the books that she wrote, and the world that she created, and all of that is to me so deeply empathic.” Needless to say, Rowling’s rhetoric has alienated the stars of the film series with her comments, making a return for the Max show even less likely.
But Rowling and Casey Bloys have done their part doing damage control for the author’s anti-trans rhetoric. “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me,” Rowling said in a press statement about the new series in April 2023 when it was first announced. “I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.” Bloys downplayed Rowling’s stance, calling the discourse around her a “very online conversation” and “obviously very nuanced an complicated.” “Our priority is what’s on screen,” he continued, “and obviously the “Harry Potter” story is incredibly formative and positive and about love and self-acceptance.”
Rowling and Bloys say the right things, but the author’s involvement all but guarantees Radcliffe and other original cast members won’t return. So who will get cast in the upcoming Max “Harry Potter” series? Expect answers to that question soon if Warner Bros. wants the show to hit its 2026 premiere date goal.