A resurfaced quote proves Daniel Radcliffe didn’t need tea leaves to foresee a ‘Harry Potter’ reboot

Daniel Radcliffe was only ten years old when he became The Boy Who Lived in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001. Now, 22 years later, the British actor will pass the baton (or wand) to another young actor in Warner Bros. Discovery’s serialized reboot of the popular film franchise set to air on HBO Max. It just so happens that Radcliffe, in a move one can only describe as Professor Trelawney-esque, predicted this very outcome more than four years ago. 

Just a few short months after Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald premiered in theaters in the fall of 2019, Radcliffe told IGN that he felt confident there would be a reboot at some point in his lifetime. 

While the idea of a reboot happening this soon has taken some in the fandom by surprise — it’s only been a decade years after all — Radcliffe, it seems, was already prepared to pass Harry Potter’s wand to another bespectacled young wizard. 

“I’m sure there will be some other version of it; I know I’m not the last Harry Potter I’m gonna see in my lifetime – we’ve already got a few more.”

Radcliffe went on to acknowledge the “sacredness” of the original Potter films but agreed that its shine “will wear off at some point.” He predicted that one day Warner Bros. Discovery would not just do a cinematic reboot, but perhaps turn it into a series instead. 

“It will be interesting to see how long those films stay… it feels like there’s a sacredness around them at the moment, but that’ll go, the shine will wear off at some point. It’ll be interesting if they reboot them and just do the films again or do a series; I’m fascinated to watch.”

With the announcement of the reboot still fresh out of the oven, speculation is high amongst the fandom. Rowling’s direct involvement with the project has put many off, but that’s not all. Casting decisions for characters like Hermione have been bogged down with debate, not to mention a legitimate logistical problem the reboot faces if it wishes to create a convincing adaptation of a seven-year Hogwarts story arc.

At this point, only one thing is clear: the train ride to Hogwarts is going to be far less smooth this time around.