Daniel Radcliffe Is Harry Potter No More, as JK Rowling Has Final Say on New Actor

There won’t be any need for the Sorting Hat when the new term begins at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard, because apparently JK Rowling herself will have the final say on the new Harry Potter actor.

Related: Hermione Granger’s Recasting In HBO Reboot Could Spark Outrage Among Fans

This comes just a week after it was reported that Warner Bros. and HBO are preparing to get the official casting call underway, which will take place some time over the next nine months. The fact that Rowling will have the final say, though, is nothing new.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) director Chris Columbus painstakingly scoured through 4,000 applications from young actors wishing to portray the Boy Who Lived, but it was a chance-sighting in which producer David Heyman spotted Daniel Radcliffe in the audience of a London theater that led to the first Harry Potter casting.

Related: HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Casting Call: Will Your Child Wear the Sorting Hat?

At the time, Columbus said, “When Jo [Rowling] saw his [Daniel Radcliffe’s] screen test she was very emotional. She said: ‘This is exactly the boy I pictured all along.'” Now, Rowling is set to approve of another actor, who will fill the shoes of Daniel Radcliffe and face “dark times ahead” alongside a brand-new Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, and many more.

A recent rumor, however, suggested that the Hogwarts-trio had already been recast, in Bronte Carmichael (Hermione Granger), Joshua Pickering (Ronald Weasley), and Toby Woolf (Harry Potter). But, just as we suspected, it sounds like this is unlikely to be true.

Related: “They Deserve to Die!” OG ‘Harry Potter’ Cast Reacts to Franchise Being Rebooted

It remains to be seen who will slip into Harry’s wizard robes, but one thing’s for sure, the fact that Rowling is the one who’ll make the final decision on the new Harry Potter actor is bound to have plenty of fans gritting their teeth in anger.

Rowling has become a widely controversial figure, ever since she first shared her views on gender identity on Twitter, which led to major backlash from the trans community and beyond, with many, to this day, viewing her as a “transphobic”.

Related: First ‘Harry Potter’, Now Another Massive Franchise Gets HBO Max Series

The open-world game Hogwarts Legacy (2023) came under heavy fire in the months leading up to its release as a result of Rowling’s involvement, with many boycotting the title. The fact that it features a trans character did nothing to remedy all the hate.

Now, news of the Harry Potter television series, with Rowling serving as executive producer, has sent the fanbase into a craze. On one hand, you have fans who don’t want a reboot (because it’s a bad idea), and then you have those who oppose Rowling.

Recently, the 57-year-old author took to Twitter to announce she had a “large stock of champagne” ready for all the backlash and boycotting.

Related: WB Reveals the Next Major ‘Harry Potter’ Installment, and It’s Not the HBO Reboot

Now, the fact she’s set to decide who plays Harry Potter will undoubtedly go down like a lead balloon too. Either way, this means Daniel Radcliffe is officially done as Harry Potter (although there are rumors of a ninth film in the main series being in development).

Check out the official teaser for the Harry Potter reboot below:

Related: A Ninth ‘Harry Potter’ Film Alongside HBO Reboot Could Mean Wizarding World Multiverse

It was also recently announced that Hogwarts Legacy is already getting a follow-up in the form of brand-new game Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions (TBA)

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions of Hogwarts Legacy are on sale now. There’s currently no release date for HBO’s Harry Potter series or Quidditch Champions.

Are you happy that JK Rowling will have the final word on the new Harry Potter actor? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!