Steven Spielberg says he could have directed the first Harry Potter movie.
Warner Brothers Pictures
As one of the most popular franchises of all time, Harry Potter has done just fine without Steven Spielberg, but it’s interesting nonetheless to think about what things could have been if the iconic director had helmed the first movie in the series. Based on the original book series by J.K. Rowling, the film series began in 2001 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, aka Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was directed by Chris Columbus, who had previously helmed hit films like Home Alone 1 & 2 and Mrs. Doubtfire.
Before Columbus was signed on to direct Harry Potter 1, Spielberg was given an offer that he ultimately turned down. The mind behind The Fabelmans opens up about that decision in a conversation with RRR director S.S. Rajamouli in a new piece for Variety. He explained how he was already well established in Hollywood by that point and in a better position to accept the jobs that worked out best for him and his family. Taking on Harry Potter would have put Spielberg in another country for several months at a time, taking away too much family time. That’s why the director has no qualms about rejecting Harry Potter.
“The personal meaning about [how the conflict between] art and family will tear you in half happened to me later, after I had already established myself as a filmmaker, as a working director,” Spielberg says. “Kate [Capshaw] and I started raising a family and we started having children. The choice I had to make was taking a job that would move me to another country for four or five months where I wouldn’t see my family every day…That was a ripping kind of experience.”
The Jaws helmer continues, “There were several films I chose not to make. I chose to turn down the first Harry Potter to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up. So I’d sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I’m very happy to have done, to be with my family.”
Related: Chris Columbus Confirms Robin Williams Wanted to Play Lupin in the Harry Potter Movies
In Another Timeline, Harry Potter Is Directed by Steven Spielberg and Stars Robin Williams
Steven Spielberg directing is just one way that the first Harry Potter film could have been much different, potentially altering the entire series in a major way. In 2021, Columbus confirmed the reports that Robin Williams had been gunning for the role as Remus Lupin, and given his history with the funnyman, Columbus felt badly that he had to turn the late actor down, as an early rule had been put into place for the project that only British actors could be cast.
“I had a conversation with Robin Williams, who wanted to play Lupin,” Columbus told Total Film. “It was very difficult for me to say ‘It’s all British. There’s nothing I can do.'”
Given how Harry Potter lives on, including the recent release of the new video game Hogwarts Legacy, it would seem that things worked out well enough in the end with the franchise.
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