Daniel Radcliffe on Returning to Harry Potter: Never Say Never

Daniel Radcliffe has gone from firm denials to vaguely cagey on the subject of ever playing Harry Potter again on the big screen.

And once again, the inevitable has come to pass. The moment it was announced that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was coming to Broadway, it was only a matter of time before someone started suggesting that Daniel Radcliffe should star in it. After all, Broadway has been one of the actor’s favorite haunts since graduating from Hogwarts. And if there was any way to make sure the run could sell out any faster, it would be to have the marquee read “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter.”

But of course this would never happen. Radcliffe has said over and over he’s never going back to the Wizarding world. And besides, at this juncture, he’s still not old enough to pass for the character he played at the age Potter Sr. is in the current production, lo those 19 years later, as age 37. (Radcliffe himself is not even 28.)

And yet, here comes an interview this week on Good Morning Britain where it sounds like Radcliffe has realized that, like Sean Connery in James Bond, one should Never Say Never.

Now, note the “that’s a long ways off” quote in this interview. 2018 is not that long off–it’s next year. So he can’t be talking about the Broadway version of the show can he?

What could Radcliffe be talking about then? What other production of Harry Potter could he mean? Does he mean if the show runs long enough he could take over the role down the line? Or could he be talking about the movie version of the two part production, that Rowling and company continue to deny is happening, even though it is the broadway show’s logical end point.

After all, Warner Brothers has filed the patents for a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie. We know this–even though everyone denies it, and says such moves are merely to protect the brand. And Warner Brothers has long term plans to continue the Harry Potter Universe as long as it can (especially since the DCEU continues to be a critical disaster). After all, outside of those franchises, it’s got little else in the ways of planned expandable universes, which are the current 21st century staple of movie making.

With four more movies from Rowling in the Fantastic Beasts saga promised, coming every two years, we can assume that the Potter universe will run on something close to the following schedule:

• Fantastic Beasts 2: Beasts in France: 2018
• Fantastic Beasts 3: Beasts In The City: 2020
• Fantastic Beasts 4: Beasts on Patrol: 2022
• Fantastic Beasts 5: Dumbledore vs Grindelwald: First Blood: 2024

**(Please note none of these are official titles. Yet.)

That would put the first installment of a new Harry Potter trilogy based on Cursed Child, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part 1: Return to Hogwarts as releasing in 2026. (We can assume right now, for everyone’s sake, the two part broadway show would be retrofitted into a trilogy. Just assume it. It’s safer for all involved.) That would be the same year Radcliffe reached age 37…..the *exact age* of Harry Potter in the play.

And having had two decades away from the character to do his own thing, and if the paycheck was the right size…..well, wouldn’t you?

Next: 15 Times We Cried While Watching the Harry Potter Movies

Never say Never. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will show up on Broadway next year.