Daniel Radcliffe Officially Admits He May Never Watch HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Reboot

For an entire generation, Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter. The British star spent a decade bringing J.K. Rowling‘s famous wizard to life across eight movies, growing up alongside Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as the franchise became a global phenomenon. Now, 25 years after the first movie arrived in theaters, HBO is preparing to introduce an entirely new trio of Hogwarts students. But while millions of fans are counting down to the reboot’s Christmas premiere, the original Boy Who Lived might not be joining them.

Radcliffe has admitted that he may never watch HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, despite previously expressing his support for Dominic McLaughlin, who is taking over the title role. Speaking with the Associated Press at the New York premiere of his Netflix project Steps, however, Radcliffe clarified that it was more down to the fact that he didn’t have the time to spare, and that, in case you didn’t realize, he’s already done this. Oh and also, he’s missed out on some of the finest television ever made.

I don’t know if I will [watch], honestly. I’ve been in a lot of Harry Potter already… and also I don’t watch any TV. I haven’t seen Breaking Bad. I haven’t seen Mad Men. I haven’t seen some of the like the real classics. So, you know, eight hours is a lot of anything to watch.

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Collider · The Sorting Hat Awaits
Which Hogwarts House
Are You?
Eight questions · four houses · one sorting

Four houses, one destiny. The Sorting Hat has weighed thousands of students and now it is your turn. Answer honestly and find out where you belong at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The four houses

Place the hat

The Sorting Hat speaksYour house has been chosen

Gryffindor
Gryffindor Tower · Scarlet and Gold
Gryffindors do not act because they are fearless. They act because some things are worth being afraid for.

You have nerve. Not the reckless kind, but the deep and quiet sort that turns up even when you are terrified, and especially then. You stand up for people when looking away would be easier, and you go at what is right even when the odds are poor. That instinct has cost you before and you have never once decided it was not worth it.
Why the Hat chose this

• You speak up in the room where it costs you something.
• You would rather be wrong and brave than right and silent.
• People come to you when something needs facing.

From the Collider file

• Dominic McLaughlin takes over as Harry in HBO’s series, which arrives in 2027 after
  filming through 2025 and 2026.
• Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were all cast in 2000, aged eleven, ten and
  ten.
• The Sorting Hat on screen was a practical puppet before any digital work went near it.

Nerve
Acts first
Stands up

Slytherin
Slytherin Dungeon · Emerald and Silver
At its best this is the house of people who refuse the limits other people set for them.

You are driven, sharp, and entirely clear-eyed about what you want and how to reach it. Slytherin has been misread for a long time, painted as the house of villains when what it really rewards is resourcefulness and the patience to play a long game. You know your own worth, you protect your own fiercely, and you have never needed anyone else’s permission to aim high.
Why the Hat chose this

• You think three moves ahead and say one of them out loud.
• You are loyal to a small circle and ruthless about the rest.
• Being underestimated has always suited you.

From the Collider file

• Alan Rickman knew Snape’s ending from Rowling years before the films got there, and
  played it accordingly.
• Tom Felton read for Harry and for Ron before landing Draco.
• Paapa Essiedu takes the role of Snape in HBO’s series.

Plays the long game
Knows his worth
Resourceful

Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff Basement · Yellow and Black
Not the safe house and not the leftover house. The house with the most heart.

You are the sort of person who makes a place better just by being in it. You turn up, you do the work, and you do not need glory or credit for any of it, because you do what is right on the grounds that it is right. Your loyalty does not waver when it is tested, which is the only time loyalty means anything at all. Hufflepuff has never been the consolation prize.
Why the Hat chose this

• You are the one who remembers, and who follows through.
• You do the unglamorous part nobody volunteers for.
• Your word has never needed a backup.

From the Collider file

• Robert Pattinson played Cedric Diggory in Goblet of Fire a year before he was cast in
  Twilight.
• Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander put a Hufflepuff at the center of five Fantastic Beasts
  films.
• The common room sits beside the kitchens, which is the most Hufflepuff detail in the books.

Shows up
Unwavering
No credit needed

Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw Tower · Blue and Bronze
Not merely intelligence. The love of learning, and the rare nerve to say you do not know yet.

Your mind is your best thing and you have always known it. Ravenclaws are the questioners, the ones who cannot leave a puzzle alone and who find a good book better company than most rooms full of people. What marks the house out is not being clever, it is wanting to understand, and being willing to admit the gap. You see things with a clarity that other people find unsettling.
Why the Hat chose this

• You would rather be corrected than comfortable.
• You notice the thing nobody else in the room noticed.
• You have never been able to leave a question alone.

From the Collider file

• Evanna Lynch was cast as Luna from an open call of roughly fifteen thousand girls, having
  written to Rowling as a fan.
• The tower door asks a riddle rather than a password, so a Ravenclaw can be locked out by
  thinking too slowly.
• Luna, Flitwick and Rowena Ravenclaw are all originals, which is rather the point of the
  house.

Asks the question
Loves learning
Sees clearly

The Hat’s deliberation · your top three

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Daniel Radcliffe Has Already Given the New Harry Potter His Blessing

That’s not to say he’s not for the new series doing well. Although Radcliffe might not be watching, he has been supportive of McLaughlin, who will lead the new adaptation alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. Radcliffe previously explained that McLaughlin doesn’t need advice from him, and he expressed his concern that his own comments could follow the young performer throughout his career. Radcliffe has also warmly praised the youngster and expressed his hopes that their paths will cross soon.

The upcoming series features John Lithgow (The Crown) as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Ozark) as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Rubeus Hagrid. The new Harry Potter series premieres December 25, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max.

Stay tuned to Collider for all the latest news and updates on the biggest and best movies and shows heading to your favorite streaming platforms soon.

Release Date

2026 – 2026

Network

HBO Max

Showrunner

Francisca Gardiner

• 

  Dominic McLaughlin

  Harry Potter

• 

  Arabella Stanton

  Hermione Granger

• 

  Alastair Stout

  Ron Weasley