Book fans love to assume that when franchises like the Harry Potter movies get underway, they’ll be able to eventually see the whole series adapted to film. But ask anyone who followed the Divergent series, The Golden Compass or Beautiful Creatures, and they’d tell you that this particular fate is never guaranteed. Hogwarts alum Tom Felton fully admitted to knowing that very truth while making some of the best 2000s movies. He even revealed that after all these years, it’s kind of “strange” how everything worked out so that the series reached Deathly Hallows.
Speaking with Collider on behalf of a new set of Harry Potter Funko toys, brought to the world by Kinder chocolate, the star reminisced about his time working on all eight films in Warner Bros.’ legendary fantasy family franchise. And what he had to say about the process of greenlighting each movie may surprise some of you, as this is how he described the thinking at work:
Well, 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. 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. I think we all assumed that they would replace us with half-decent actors at some point.
Between the years of 2001 and 2011, it was almost like clockwork to see a new chapter of wizarding excitement in theaters at a regular interval. While there was always a question of how long the younger members of the Harry Potter cast would be present for the ride, the matter of whether the series would be completed never seemed to be up for debate.
To be honest, thinking about the potential for anyone to replace any of the other core cast members of the Potter youth is as alien to me as those rumors back in the day that stated Jake Gyllenhaal was going to replace Tobey Maguire on Spider-Man 2. The same could be said about the possibility that we might not have seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows adapted into one movie, much less two.
Thankfully, it never came to that point, as Tom Felton himself discussed in his continued remarks. Citing his co-stars as inspiration to keep stepping up his game, he discussed the rest of his magical fate as follows:
But luckily they kept us on and we got better. So, yeah, I was lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. I was able to still stay at my muggle school while attending Hogwarts, and sort of go back and forth over months at a time. And I’ve got three older brothers, so they keep me pretty grounded.
Mr. Felton has certainly kept himself busy in his post-Harry Potter years. With roles in films like Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and TV smash hits such as The Flash, the original Draco Malfoy actor has had a good degree of career longevity in the years that have passed. The fact that he reflects on this career making role so fondly only makes that fact all the more enjoyable, especially as Felton’s feelings on Draco’s arc are pretty spot on.
I think I speak for anyone who’s enjoyed these films when I say that while I’m thankful all seven books were adapted as films, the experience wouldn’t have been as rewarding if it wasn’t for the continued participation of Tom Felton and his Wizarding World co-stars. Magic can only carry a series so far, as the actors present are vital to making such delights come to life.
While the Harry Potter movie franchise has been concluded for over a decade now, there are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy the fun of the Wizarding World. Those films are currently streaming for those of you with a Peacock subscription, if you want to travel back to series past. Or, you can wait until 2026, at which point the Harry Potter TV show will supposedly premiere on Max.