There are few franchises that have stood up the time quite as well as Harry Potter. In addition to J.K. Rowling's original novels and their film adaptations, the Wizarding World is still constantly being expanded through projects like Pottermore, The Cursed Child plays, and the Fantastic Beasts franchise. The cast of actors who brought the characters to life remain synonymous with their magical counterpart, especially Harry himself, Daniel Radcliffe.
In fact, Daniel Radcliffe was originally planned to reprise his role in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. The animated blockbuster has tons of cameos, but ultimately Radcliffe's appearance as Harry ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor. Director Mike Mitchell recently revealed why Harry apparated out of the movie, saying:
Oh yeah, we were definitely going to go out to Daniel. And he was game, but unfortunately his character got cut. I don’t remember why it happened. I think it was because we didn’t want to upset any Harry Potter fans. They have such a following, so we decided to upset the Mary Poppins fans. We just made Larry Poppins.
It looks like the generations of Harry Potter fans were a bit too daunting for Mike Mitchell when it came to crating out the story and various cameos of The Lego Movie 2. Instead, he took a dig at Mary Poppins, the practically perfect nanny who only recently returned to theaters.
Mike Mitchell's comments to Huffington Post may be surprising, considering just how many iconic characters have already popped up in the Lego Movie franchise. Aim has already been taken at superheroes like the Justice League, as well as characters from the Star Wars franchise. But it seems that Potterheads are the one demographic that Mitchell wasn't willing to make angry.
The planned Harry Potter joke for The Lego Movie 2 would reportedly poke fun at the movie's inability to get the rights to the beloved wizard. Instead, Harry's cousin Larry Potter was going to pop up, with Daniel Radcliffe voicing the lesser known character. It's a quick gag, and one that it appears Mike Mitchell transferred over to Mary Poppins instead.
And with Mary Poppins Returns recently bringing audiences back to Cherry Tree Lane for the first time in decades, the timing might have been better to make fun of the musical nanny instead. Unfortunately, that also means that Daniel Radcliffe didn't get to record his quick bit as Harry Potter, and reprise his role for the first time since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
It should be exciting to see how many characters pop up in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Actors like Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa are reprising their roles from the DC, so we should expect plenty of cameos.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part will arrive in theaters on February 8, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
