MOVIE NEWS – Andrew Garfield recently watched the full Harry Potter film saga for the first time and made a point of praising Daniel Radcliffe’s performance. At the same time, he also made it clear that he fully understands the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, even if he does not believe the work of the artists behind those films should simply be erased.
Harry Potter is back in the spotlight after the first trailer for HBO’s new television adaptation debuted online in March 2026. Starring Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton, the series will adapt Rowling’s original first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, in its opening season, while Warner Bros. Discovery plans to tackle all seven novels over time. That is a major undertaking for a franchise whose original seven films grossed more than $7.7 billion worldwide.
The Wizarding World, however, has been surrounded by controversy in recent years after Rowling’s public positions on transgender rights alienated many former fans and multiple actors connected to the franchise. Several former Harry Potter stars and other high-profile performers have openly pushed back against her views, while the author has remained firmly committed to them. Now Garfield has entered that discussion as well, and he has made it fairly clear where he believes the focus should remain.
He does not want to throw away the soul of the films
Speaking with Hits Radio, Garfield revealed that he had only recently watched the first eight Harry Potter movies for the first time. He called Daniel Radcliffe’s work “so goddamn good” and, while openly acknowledging the controversy around J.K. Rowling, refused to say her name, instead referring to her as “she that shall remain nameless.” Garfield argued that while he understands the discomfort around putting money into the pocket of someone associated with views many see as inhumane, there is still something deeply valuable in the soul, spirit, and thematic core of those films, along with the work of the children, artists, and crew members who helped create them.
He also pointed out that he is currently working with a makeup artist who previously helped create the creatures in the Harry Potter movies, and he feels you simply cannot “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In his view, too many gifted artists poured beautiful work into those films to reduce them entirely to one surrounding controversy. Garfield is far from alone in Hollywood in taking that view. John Lithgow recently expressed something similar amid the conversation around HBO’s reboot, stressing that the joy and magic of the story matter more to him than the constant debate surrounding Rowling.
HBO’s new Harry Potter series is set to debut in December 2026.
Source: MovieWeb
