Ever since J.K. Rowling chose to follow up the seemingly complete Harry Potter story with the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play in 2016, fans have wondered about a potential feature film adaptation. That hasn’t happened yet, but the speculation persists. Fans shouldn’t get their hopes up though, because actor Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the original series, doesn’t think the cast will ever reunite for a Cursed Child movie. Addressing the possibility, he said:
How much you offering? I’m joking. I don’t think it will be reprised, to be honest with you. I think it was a wonderful eight chapters, and everything that needed to be done was done.
Tom Felton joked that he might be persuaded to come back for a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie if Warner Bros. is willing to open its vault at Gringotts, which is a much higher asking price than his previous assertion that he’d return to the franchise for free. But this hypothetical is irrelevant in Tom Felton’s mind. That’s because, as he told Red Carpet News TV, Tom Felton doesn’t think a Cursed Child movie is particularly likely.
The actor doesn’t believe that he and the rest of the cast will be putting on their robes and reprising their roles for an adaptation of Cursed Child. It doesn’t seem that he is against continuing the story or seeing an adaptation of the stage play getting made, he just honestly doesn’t think it’s going to happen, nor is it necessary.
Tom Felton seems to view the existing eight-film Harry Potter saga as complete. The story that needed to be told was told, and it was told well, so there is no need to revisit it just for the sake of it. For that reason, he doesn’t think the chances of the cast of the first eight films reuniting for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to be very good. And with the cast's general reluctance, it seems especially unlikely Warner Bros would ever do the film without them.
While opinions will vary on whether or not you want a Cursed Child movie, Tom Felton seems to be correct about whether or not it will happen, at least at the moment. Despite the never-ending speculation, there does not appear to be an adaptation in the works, and J.K. Rowling has given no indication that there ever will be. It’s entirely possible that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child remains only a stage play forever.
Maybe Tom Felton could appear in The Cursed Child stage show at some point for a special occasion. Ron Weasley actor Rupert Grint has seen the play and indicated he’d be open to appearing in it. Although co-star Daniel Radcliffe has indicated he’s probably not going to see it.
On the one hand, a feature film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child seems inevitable. There is simply too much money on the table not to do it, and as Tom Felton indicated, throw some of that money his way and he might be open to returning. Cursed Child has also always seemed like a ‘break glass in case of emergency’ option for Warner Bros.’ Wizarding World films, which, after the performance of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, might not be that far off.
On the other hand, J.K. Rowling retains a ton of creative control over her creation, and she may not want Harry Potter and the Cursed Child to get the feature film treatment. Die-hard Potter fans may also be more mixed on the prospect than you might expect as well. The play contains some elements that Potterheads might like to write off as not canon and would prefer a different Wizarding World story to be told.
The next Wizarding World story on the big screen will be Fantastic Beasts 3, which hits theaters on November 12, 2021. That’s a long time to wait so check out what’s coming out next year in our 2020 Release Schedule.
