Daniel Radcliffe is reportedly keen to reprise his role in the Harry Potter franchise, but only on the condition that J.K. Rowling stays the fuck out of it. Honestly, I love this for him.
According to We Got This Covered, a seemingly reliable source has revealed that Radcliffe is keen on either a cameo, or a full return to the role of Harry Potter when The Cursed Child is eventually adapted for the big screen.
The Cursed Child play has seen huge success in theatres, so it’s pretty fair to assume that it will one day be adapted into a film. You know, because the Wizarding World franchise is a bloody goldmine and it seems like they are going to milk it for everything they can get.
But according to inside sources, the only way Warner Bros will be able to get Harry Potter himself involved in anything is if they keep J.K. out of it.
The report comes after Radcliffe (certified angel) penned a lengthy letter distancing himself from the author and her TERF-y comments.
“Transgender women are women. Any statement to the contrary erases the identity and dignity of transgender people and goes against all advice given by professional health care associations who have far more expertise on this subject matter than either Jo or I. According to The Trevor Project, 78% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity. It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm,” he wrote.
“To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the strongest force in the universe, capable of overcoming anything; if they taught you that strength is found in diversity, and that dogmatic ideas of pureness lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups; if you believe that a particular character is trans, nonbinary, or gender fluid, or that they are gay or bisexual; if you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred. And in my opinion nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope that these comments will not taint that too much.”
Obviously, many fans of the franchise would choose Daniel Radcliffe over J.K. Rowling if given the choice. But unfortunately it’s not that simple.
Although we’d all like to just pretend Radcliffe and the gang created the franchise, or that Shakira wrote the books, unfortunately that’s not true. And even if J.K. Rowling *isn’t* involved in the creative process, she would likely still make bank on anything Wizarding World-related we see in future.
So I guess it all circles back to the conversation we’ve all been having for months now: is it okay to support the franchise that we all grew up with without supporting J.K?
Unfortunately, there’s no concrete answer to that question. Some have opted to only purchase licensed products second-hand, as to not directly financially support the Wizarding World, while others choose to match their Harry Potter spend with a donation to a trans charity. And for many people, they have decided to just boycott the franchise altogether.
As much as I’d love to see Daniel Radcliffe back at Hogwarts, I just don’t think there’s a way he can do it without supporting J.K. Rowling in some sense. Unless, of course, he finds enough money to just buy the rights to the whole franchise off her.
