Watching your favorite movies abroad? Don’t forget to get your Aeroshield smart DNS to access any geo-restricted content.
Warner Bros. has yet to justify the need for a Harry Potter television remake, but an original cast member has just given us our first reason to be mildly excited about this new project.
In tune with Hollywood’s current motto of “if at first you don’t succeed, remake it until you do,” the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is soon getting a live-action television re-do, this time with an all-new cast and a completely revamped aesthetic design. Now, the first instinct of every Potterhead is to rejoice at the prospects of a return for their favorite thing in the world, but then you realize; How could they possibly outdo the high-grossing and acclaimed movie series, and why would they try in the first place?
I don’t know about you, but I’m really not looking forward to seeing another young actor portray Harry Potter, especially since I grew up watching Daniel Radcliffe in the role. The same goes for the late Michael Gambon as Dumbledore, or Emma Watson as Hermione, or Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. I don’t even think of Rupert as Rupert; if I see that guy on the street, I will call him Ron.
So you see, even though I’ve all but outgrown my childhood and don’t have those same intense feelings about the Harry Potter franchise any longer, I still worry that Warner Bros. is going to tarnish the good name of the franchise (what remains of it, anyway, what with J.K. Rowling loose on social media) by attempting a subpar imitation.
Still, as Dumbledore would say, “happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” And right now, my happiness is that one OG Harry Potter cast member wishes to return to the series, but this time in a much larger capacity.
You may know Gary Oldman for half a dozen Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning roles, including his portrayal of a WWII-era Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, which nabbed him the statuette in 2018. Oldman is a legendary actor of unparalleled caliber who carries every movie he’s in. We, however, know him as the ultimate parental figure, Sirius Black. The actor recently told IndieWire that he’d be game to come back to the franchise, but this time as none other than Professor Dumbledore.
“I love Sirius,” Oldman said. “He wasn’t in it enough. He turned up and then he went through the veil. I would bet my money that they will get a whole new cast of people. Maybe in a few years, I could do Dumbledore.”
As you’d expect, the social media was quick enough to rally behind this possibility, and I can’t help but admit that even I’d be interested in a Harry Potter remake featuring Gary Oldman as Dumbledore.
The man is even the right age for it now. The original Harry Potter films featured every OBE, MBE, CBE, knighted and damed actor in the British Isles, so why should Warner now decide to shy away from a known name?