J.K. Rowling.Photo: Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic
J.K. Rowlingwill not participate in theupcomingHarry Potterreunionspecial.
HBO Max announced Tuesday that original starsDaniel Radcliffe,Emma Watson,Rupert Grintand the extended cast members will reunite for the first time forHarry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, which debuts on Jan. 1, 2022.
The special will be a retrospective, focusing on the creation of the first film from 2001,Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in honor of the 20th anniversary.
Harry Pottercreator and author Rowling, 56, will not make a personal appearance in any new content for the special, a source close to the production confirms to PEOPLE, however she will be shown in archival footage throughout. Her name was noticeably not listed in theteaserfor the highly anticipated special.
Rowling came under fire in June 2020 when sheappeared to support anti-transgender sentimentsin a series of tweets. Though she denied that her views on feminism are transphobic, shedoubled down on her controversial standpointsin a lengthy essay shared on her website days later.
Stars Radcliffe, Watson and Grinteach spoke out against Rowling’s much-criticized remarksregarding the transgender community.
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Radcliffe, 32,stated definitivelyin anessayforThe Trevor Projectthat “transgender women are women.”
“According to The Trevor Project, 78 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth reported being the subject of discrimination due to their gender identity,” he added. “It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm.”
And 31-year-old Watson expressed her support in aTwitter threadtoo: “Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are. I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are.”
Responding to backlashback in June 2020, Rowling wrote that she refuses to “bow down to a movement that I believe is doing demonstrable harm in seeking to erode ‘woman’ as a political and biological class and offering cover to predators like few before it.”
ActorRalph Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort in thePotterfranchise, told the U.K.‘sThe Telegraphback in March that he personallyfeels the “level of hatred” aimed at Rowlingis uncalled for.
“I can’t understand the vitriol directed at her. I can understand the heat of an argument, but I find this age of accusation and the need to condemn irrational,” said Fiennes at the time. “I find the level of hatred that people express about views that differ from theirs, and the violence of language towards others, disturbing.”
Rowling published a new children’s book with Scholastic titledThe Christmas Pigin October, and she penned a screenplay treatment for theforthcoming thirdFantastic BeastsmovieThe Secrets of Dumbledore, in theaters April 15, 2022.
source: people.com
