Several Harry Potter stars just revealed they're returning to their roles for a cool project. Daniel Radcliffe was not one of them. He's occasionally part of Harry Potter cast reunions, but mostly he's trying to be like Ben Affleck post-Batman: He wants to move on. Daniel Radcliffe is currently promoting two much smaller films than the Harry Potter movies -- Escape From Pretoria and Guns Akimbo. However, since he's always Harry Potter -- and the franchise is currently in the middle-ish of its Fantastic Beasts prequel series -- he was asked about returning to Harry Potter for a future Fantastic Beasts movie.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling said she's planning to write five Fantastic Beasts movies, and they are expected to culminate in the duel between Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald in 1945. Fantastic Beasts 3 is just starting production, so the timing fits for a question to Daniel Radcliffe -- even if it would take a major flash-forward from the final movie for the timeline to connect with Harry Potter.
Variety asked Daniel Radcliffe if he would ever return as Harry Potter for one of the Fantastic Beasts movies, and here's what he said:
I don’t think so. I don’t like say no to things, but it’s not something that I’m rushing to do. I feel like those films have moved on and they’re doing just fine without us. I’m happy to keep it that way. I like what my life is now. I’m not saying that I’ll never go back into any franchise, but I like the flexibility that I have with my career now. And I don’t want to get into a situation where I’m signed up for one series for years in advance.
He's not rushing to do it, but he certainly wouldn't need to rush if he showed up at the end of the Fantastic Beasts film series, whenever that finishes. I'm not advocating for it or anything, but they COULD flash-forward to the end point of the Harry Potter films, to the timeline where the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play picks up. That could segue into the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movies many fans have been pushing for. OK, maybe I am advocating for it.
But, anyway, what Daniel Radcliffe said above about wanting flexibility in his career fits with what he said recently when asked if he was interested in joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He actually seemed somewhat open to the idea, but added the caveat that a script for a major franchise would have to clear a very high bar because he doesn't want to sign his life away again.
Daniel Radcliffe told Variety he isn't really going out of his way to find the weirdest projects out there, his choices just seem remarkable to some fans since they contrast so much with the Harry Potter films:
I wasn’t picking projects that were weird for weird’s sake. Swiss Army Man was weird in that it’s about a farting corpse coming back to life and that’s not for everybody. At the same time, it’s an incredibly smart film that has something beautiful to say about being human. I’ve done Guns Akimbo, where I’ve had guns bolted to my hands, but I’ve also done Escape From Pretoria, which is really grounded in reality. I think people saw me play one thing for so long that it seems more notable that I do loads of different stuff now.
I think he's being very smart with his post-Harry Potter choices, like Robert Pattinson with his post-Twilight (and post-Harry Potter too) choices.
That said, I'd love to connect the Harry Potter films and the Fantastic Beasts series in a more direct way than through characters like Albus Dumbledore, played in the prequel films by Jude Law. But I do understand why Daniel Radcliffe still isn't in a rush to return to the franchise.
Fantastic Beasts 3 is gearing up for its November 2021 release. Meanwhile, Daniel Radcliffe's new movies Escape from Pretoria and Guns Akimbo are getting limited theatrical releases this week.
