First Harry Potter director wants to make Cursed Child film with original actors

The play picks up 19 years after the events of franchise closer The Deathly Hallows

Chris Columbus, the director behind the first two instalments of the Harry Potter series, 2001's The Philosopher's Stone and 2002's The Chamber of Secrets, has said he would like to bring stage-sequel The Cursed Child to screens - with its original cast. Columbus made young actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson - who played Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively - worldwide megastars after casting them as the story's magical heroes in 2001. The trio went on to star in all eight Harry Potter movies leading them all the way into adulthood. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child is a theatrical sequel to J.K Rowling's hugely popular boy wizard tale and marks a continuation of the story which came to a close in 2011 with part two of story's final instalment, The Deathly Hallows. Speaking to Variety in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Columbus said "I would love to direct 'The Cursed Child'. It's a great play and the kids are actually the right age to play those roles. It's a small fantasy of mine." Thanks to its nearly two-decade time-jump, original series stars Radcliffe, 32, Grint, 33, and Watson, 31, would now be the perfect age to pick up their wands and reprise their iconic roles. The last time we saw them was during a flash-forward sequence which closed out The Deathly Hallows Part II and saw the stars wearing make up designed to age them up into adulthood. The scene has since gone on to become a bit of a punchline among fans due to how different an 'all grown up' Harry, Ron and Hermione look. Written by Rowling and This is England screenwriter Jack Thorne, with story work by John Tiffany, the play finds a now-adult Potter working at the Ministry of Magic and struggling to juggle a new set of circumstances that blend magic with family. The show debuted in London in 2016 and has been a hit ever since, going on to win six Tony awards and appear in New York's Broadway before heading to San Francisco and Toronto. Love music, TV and film? Glued to Netflix each evening? We want to hear from you. Click here to complete this survey for a chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher. Related links:

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