Lightning Scars Strike Twice: Will The Original Harry Potter Actors Star In 'The Cursed Child' Film?

We're being totally "Sirius" about this one — it looks like the original child stars of Warner Bros. Harry Potter film series will hop back on their brooms to reprise their roles for a big-screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Journalist and historian Jim Hill alohomora'ed the secrecy surrounding a continuation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child after its book success and sold-out shows on the West End.

Speaking on the Unofficial Universal Orlando Podcast, Hill claims that he not only knows when we can expect the film, but also that the cast list will contain the original trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who will all reprise their respective roles as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley.

The Empire Strikes (Sirius) B(l)ack

Director John Tiffany brought #TheCursedChild to stage in 2016, but the parts of Harry, Ron, and Hermione were played by a wholly new troupe of actors, who, to their credit, were also universally praised for their parts. However, fans have been begging for the Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint trio to return to the roles that made them famous if The Cursed Child were ever to come to our screens. Be honest, we always knew it would be a case of "when" and not "if."

So, can a Cursed Child feature film emulate the success of Star Wars: Episode VII, introducing a new cream of the acting crop, propped up by the old stars we came to love over the years? Hill says that he has good contacts in the film departments at Disney and Universal, meaning that he's got solid info:

"I have heard that Warner Bros. has actually had conversations with [Emma], with Rupert, and, of course, Daniel about 'Cursed Child,' because they want this to be, for lack of a better term, 'Harry Potter: The Force Awakens.' They want this trilogy of movies to have the actors that we know and love from the original films, that we watched grow up, as adults."

That's right, not confined to just one, but a whole new trilogy of the Potterverse following The Cursed Child's story of young Albus Severus Potter struggling to live up to the legacy of his father. Having previously said that she was leaving the Potterverse behind to concentrate on her other writing, #JKRowling released her "final" Potter book, The Deathly Hallows, in 2007, but it only took until 2010 before she had said there could be a possible continuation — the "Special Rehearsal Edition" of The Cursed Child script was released as an "eighth" Potter book in 2016. Hill has also said that the success of a Cursed film could even lead to more books, and perhaps even more films:

"And, of course, they're hiring a bunch of new, younger actors to play their children with the hope that, if we can lean on JK [Rowling], maybe there'll be 'The Cursed Adolescent.'"

As with the aforementioned Star Wars, we have seen how some time away can do a franchise a world of good. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story followed in the success of Potter spin-off #FantasticBeasts, and The Cursed Child would surely do the same in an ever-expanding Potterverse. Warner Bros. would be mad to stop expanding — we could even have a HPEU to rival the studio's cash cow, the DCEU.

--UPDATE--

Rowling has since taken to Twitter to stick an unforgivable curse on the news, downplaying the chance of a Cursed Child trilogy. It is unclear on whether she is dispelling the entire story, or just the fact that it could be a three-parter.

Back To Hogwarts

As for the A-list trio whom we fell in love with all the way back in 2001, they have managed to "lumos" Hollywood, so having their names attached could mean great things for a Cursed Child film. Radcliffe had huge success on stage with Equus and went on to star in the likes of last year's Swiss Army Man, while Watson is about to take Disney's Beauty and the Beast to cinemas, and Grint will star in the upcoming TV series based on Guy Ritchie's Snatch.

All three have seemingly dodged the Cruciatus Curse of child actors to have stellar careers inside (and out) of Hollywood, but a return to the parts that made them famous was always inevitable in some way. However, Radcliffe in particular has always remained coy on pencilling that lightning scar back on his forehead, speaking only last year about playing Harry for a possible Cursed Child outing:

"I'm never going to close the door, that would be a stupid thing to do."

He had said that he felt happy for someone else to take on the part as the titular Harry, citing that he felt "too young" to play an older version of himself. However, Hill claims that we won't see a Cursed Child film until 2026, two years after the fifth (and final) Fantastic Beasts film is scheduled, which would put Radcliffe's age at a convenient 36 — only one year younger than Harry is in the story.

Most excitingly though, if Radcliffe and co. are returning, it opens up a whole universe of possibilities for who else could return to the Potterverse. Across its eight films, and the continuing "Beasts" saga, there have been some huge Hollywood names like Michael Gambon, John Cleese, and Robbie Coltrane swishing their wands. With everyone from Moaning Myrtle to Professor McGonagall getting a name check in The Cursed Child, it means that the likes of Shirley Henderson and Maggie Smith could also return to our screens in a cinematic Pottering. While Hill is still not an official source, it looks pretty certain that Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint should start dusting off their robes and their copies of Rowling's story — prepare to open those giant Hogwarts doors once more!