Harry Potter Star Reveals A Misconception About The Series

Harry Potter actor Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the film series, has revealed that he and other members of the cast were apparently unsure if the series would be a success. As such, the films were made as one-offs, with no promise made that the cast would reunite the following year to make another movie. Speaking to Collider, Felton also talked about how some people involved in the filmmaking process apparently believed the young cast members like Felton, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson might age too quickly.

"It was a strange thing because I think people always assumed that we were gonna make the eight films from day one, and that was never the case," Felton said. "It was always, 'We're gonna make one. That did okay, so we're gonna make another one. That did better, so we're gonna make another one.' We were never promised the fact that we were gonna all be coming back next year."

He went on to joke, "I think we all assumed that they would replace us with half-decent actors at some point, but luckily they kept us on and we got better."

The first Harry Potter movie, 2001's The Sorcerer's Stone, made more than $1 billion at the box office, so from a money perspective, sequels might have felt from the outside like they were guaranteed. And indeed, all seven books would be adapted into films, with the final installment, The Deathly Hallows, spread into two films to close out the series.

Regarding the aging of the main cast, Felton said one of the issues some brought up was, "'Are they gonna grow too quickly before we can actually make the films?'"

The Harry Potter films "take a long time to make" and edit, Felton said. "There was a worry that the youngsters wouldn't be able to keep up with the rate of how quickly these films were being made," he said.

Also in the interview, Felton said he looked to Radcliffe for inspiration in terms of his acting and his ability to improve with each new entry in the series.

"He lifted the bar, really, as far as what the rest of us had to do. It was quite inspiring to see," Felton said. "The first two, especially, we were just kids having fun, and it felt like that. Then we started to develop more skill, or more passion, I think mostly, purely, actually, from being surrounded by some of the greatest actors in Britain, including my father, who I still call my father, Jason Isaacs."

Combined, the Harry Potter movies earned billions at the box office and were followed up by the multiple Fantastic Beasts films before that franchise stalled. Warner Bros. Discovery is returning to the wizarding world with a new Harry Potter TV series for Max, and it's aiming to release in 2026 with the involvement of controversial author J.K. Rowling.

In the world of video games, Hogwarts Legacy was 2023's best-selling game in the US. A sequel is rumored to be in development, alongside a Quidditch game called Quidditch Champions.