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Here's What It Would Take To Get Daniel Radcliffe Back as Harry Potter

Here's What It Would Take To Get Daniel Radcliffe Back as Harry Potter
Image credit: Legion-Media

Harry Potter became one of the most recognizable names in cinema thanks in part to its impeccable casting of Daniel Radcliffe as the title character. The decade-long franchise, in turn, shot Radcliffe to stardom.

That iconic casting also left Radcliffe at a presumed risk of being typecast.

In an effort to avoid that, he's spent much of his post-Potter career diversifying his efforts. He's appeared in several niche indie films and portrayed convincing villains in "The Lost City" and "Now You See Me 2," a shift from the pure Potter character.

He hasn't been eager to reprise the Potter role, the one that gave him his Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame.

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Happy with where he is, Radcliffe said to go back would be a "massive change to [his] life." However, he hasn't completely ruled it out.

The question of returning was raised when filmmaker Chris Columbus – director of the first two "Harry Potter" films – spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about making a film adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," a play based off the Potter franchise.

Radcliffe said it would depend on the script, comparing it to Harrison Ford returning to Han Solo after three decades of putting the character behind him.

"I am saying no for now, but leaving room to backtrack in the future."

He also hinted that a comeback would be more in the cards far down the line, mentioning that the Star Wars lineup waited over 30 years to reprise the role. For Radcliffe, it's only been 10.

Columbus mentioned in his interview that it would take Radcliffe as well as his costars – Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger – to pull off a successful reunion. Grint and Watson have given different takes on the situation.

Grint has swayed completely in the past few years. In 2018, he told the Independent that it ended at the right time and that he's ready to move on. In 2020, he said that he'd never say, "Absolutely no," being such a large part of his life. By January of this year, there was no reluctance. He couldn't think of a reason not to return to the franchise.

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Watson, on the other hand, has a few contingencies. She will only reprise Hermione Granger if J.K Rowling, author of the original novels, is not a part of the reunion. Rowling has come under fire after her transphobic views made it to Twitter, an act Watson took exception to.

Do you think a "Harry Potter" reunion would be good for the franchise?