Harry Potter New Movie? Christopher Columbus Would Love To Fill In The 19-Year Gap With A New Film

Harry Potter fans, brace yourself. The director of the first two Harry Potter films, Christopher Columbus, wants to direct a brand new movie to fill in the 19-year gap between the end of the main story and the flash forward at the end of the last movie/book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Columbus, whose new film Pixels is due for release this Friday, confessed that he has often found himself wondering what happened to the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione after the end of the main story and before their kids board the Hogwarts Express.

“I would love to go back and do another one. Not ‘Fantastic Beasts’ as much, which I think is going to be amazing, but I would love to do another movie with those three characters — Harry, Hermione, and Ron. I’m just fascinated about what happened to them after the end of the last movie, because then they cut to 18 years ahead. There’s 18 years there of great ‘Harry Potter’ stories.”

"It was locked." – Hermione
"And for good reason." – Harry#HarryPotter #Fluffy pic.twitter.com/Q3RXAvIVSZ

— Harry Potter Film (@HarryPotterFilm) July 8, 2015

Well, it’s actually 19 years, Chris, but we wouldn’t mind as long as you can convince J.K. Rowling of your ambitious plans!

When asked if he had pitched the idea of a new Harry Potter film to the author, Columbus joked he does not have the courage to mention it to Rowling, but he certainly would like to know what her take is on his idea.

“I don’t have the courage to actually mention that to her because I have such respect for her. She should do what she wants to do, but I really would love to know what’s in her head about those missing years.”

We would like to know what’s in her head too, but we could probably guess. Having penned the screenplay of the new Harry Potter spin-off movie, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, J.K. Rowling would be hoping to create the same kind of magic as she did with the original Harry Potter books. And if she does manage to do that, Rowling could be in for a long haul. In an interview with Los Angeles Times, Warner Brothers’ CEO Kevin Tsujihara hinted that the spin-off series could at least extend into a trilogy.

“Jo [J.K. Rowling] has a vision for this extension of the franchise, and for the first time, she is writing the script for what she believes is at least a trilogy.”

Having said that, Columbus is more inclined to revive the original characters from Harry Potter and hopes to have a completely new take on the intervening years, which could turn out to be a lot of fun.

But even if Rowling were to eventually consider the idea at some point, it would still take a long time before we could find out what happened to Harry Potter and his friends after Harry manages to kill off the Dark Lord.

Harry, Ron and Hermione eventually all went on to be featured on their own Chocolate Frogs cards.

— Harry Potter Stuff ?? (@TheHPfacts) July 23, 2015

Meanwhile, in a latest interview with Entertainment Weekly, Emma Watson revealed that she always knew she was going to play Hermione in the Harry Potter films.

“At the beginning, they were casting the other characters as well – but I always knew I was going out for Hermione. She came so naturally to me. Maybe so much of myself at the time was similar to her.”

Would you like to see Chris Columbus direct a new Harry Potter movie with Emma Watson reviving her role as Hermione? It’s just a shame that Professor Snape wouldn’t be able to appear in any new movie — unless they featured extensive flashbacks or a dream sequence, of course! Comment below with your suggestions.

[Photo: Ian Gavan / Getty Images]