Harry Potter is cursed at this point for many reasons. One major reason being JK Rowling and her using the money she earned from the franchise to fund anti-trans organizations and cases in the UK. Meaning that supporting the franchise in 2026 is lining Rowling’s pockets with more money. And that includes Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The play opened on the West End in 2016 before starting its Broadway run in 2018. Even after undergoing structural changes (shifting from a two performance production to one show), the show continues to make Rowling money. It has been reported that she has made upwards of $10 million from the production, years after its opening. And original cast members from the Harry Potter films returning to the franchise through the play are making this all worse.
Rowling became a persona non grata when the majority of her social media presence was focused on “women’s rights” in the UK. Her crusade was less about women’s rights and more about pushing arguably transphobic narratives, earning her a TERF moniker. Her continued pushing of the issue meant that fans of Harry Potter had to make a choice: Support a series that lines her pockets or write off the franchise.
Many of the actors from the Harry Potter series were asked to do the same, including the Golden Trio. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were central to Rowling’s world. So Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson all sharing their support for the trans community was amazing to see. So why now is Grint joining the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, just as Draco Malfoy star Tom Felton did before him?
You cannot possibly need this
The Harry Potter franchise, in theory, set the cast up for life. I don’t know their money situations but for the most part, their names are instantly recognizable. That is a great bit of currency in Hollywood. So why sell your soul to join a production of a Harry Potter story over 10 years old? Is there something that is forcing them to do this?
For all the talk of standing with the trans community that Grint did in 2020, what changed? Back then in a statement to the Times, Grint said “I firmly stand with the trans community. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment.”
Now, six years later, Grint told The Hollywood Reporter how it was a full circle moment returning as Ron Weasley. “Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life. There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron’s shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new. And the joy of being back on Broadway, this time in a role that defined so much of my life is truly exciting.”
This is beyond disappointing, just as it is watching every actor join the new television series.
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