Director David Fincher has revealed he was invited to pitch his own take on Harry Potter for the makers of the original movie series, but the talks broke down when his vision didn’t align with theirs.
Speaking to Variety to promote the upcoming 4K re-release of his classic thriller Seven, the three-time Academy Award nominee recalled his meeting with Warner Bros, who asked him how he would adapt J.K. Rowling’s successful book series.
“I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it’” he revealed. “I want to do something that looks a lot more like Withnail And I, and I want it to be kind of creepy.’” Unfortunately for Fincher, whose films include 1999 cult hit Fight Club and 2014’s Gone Girl, Warner Bros had different ideas. “They were like, ‘We want Tom Brown’s School Days by way of Oliver.’”
Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe on the set of the film ‘Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban’ in 2003. CREDIT: Murray Close/ Getty Images
Home Alone director Chris Columbus would eventually be chosen to direct the first two Harry Potter films, with the series eventually consisting of eight movies from 2001-2011. Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón would take the franchise in a darker direction with the third film Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004).
Warner Bros are currently developing a TV adaptation of the books, scheduled for 2027. More than 32,000 child actors have reportedly auditioned for roles in the show.
As for Fincher, he would go on to make critically adored dramas such as The Social Network (2010) and the Oscar-winning Mank (2020). He also has future TV projects on the horizon, overseeing an English-language spin-off to Netflix hit Squid Game, a show many have compared to his own 1996 film The Game.
Recently, he also reflected on one of his other hits, as he talked about the different ways people have interpreted Fight Club over the years.
