Guillermo del Toro is one of the most prominent filmmakers in the entertainment industry. The mastermind behind the superhit Hellboy film series, he has directed numerous films, and… well, rejected numerous films as well. This also includes him letting go of his chance to helm one of the biggest fan-favorite film franchises to ever exist: the book series-based Harry Potter film series.
As surprising as it might be, the remarkable filmmaker was actually offered to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And although he turned down the offer back then because of a rather absurd reason, he regrets his decision now—to the point where he wishes Warner Bros. came back to him with the offer.
Guillermo del Toro Regrets Not Directing Harry Potter
Judging from Guillermo del Toro’s terrific filmmaking skills, had he helmed the Harry Potter franchise, they would have held an entirely different, and perhaps, better approach.
That being said, he was, in fact, offered to direct the third film from the film series, i.e. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Chris Columbus decided to get off the director’s chair—as he shared in an interview with MTV:
“They came to me once, for the third one [i.e. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban],” del Toro admitted.
But the filmmaker initially turned down the offer for a rather absurd reason: Apparently, the Hellboy director didn’t want to helm the film series because it felt “bright and happy and full of light”, which was nowhere near what he imagined it to be as.
However, as the film series progressed, del Toro noticed the darkness seeping into them and immediately regretted his decision to let go of the chance to direct the film series.
“They seem to be getting eerie and darker,” he explained. “If they come back to me, I’ll think about it.”
Unfortunately for the filmmaker, after once turning their backs on him, Warner Bros. never again knocked on his door with another offer for the film series.
And del Toro regrets it to date, according to what he admitted to during a 90-minute masterclass at the Annecy Festival while responding to one fan mentioning how he doesn’t “lie awake sleepless about movies that [he] didn’t end up doing”:
“The only one is Harry Potter, and then, I lay there and go ‘Oh f—.’”
Nonetheless, the position he was being offered was instead taken up by Alphonso Cuaron (who, needless to mention, did a fabulous job while he was at it), and Guillermo del Toro was left with nothing but regrets.
Guillermo del Toro Felt Harry Potter Was “Very Dickensian”
During the same interview with MTV back in 2007, Guillermo del Toro also shared how felt the Harry Potter books were “very Dickensian.” He said:
“I’ve read them all, and when I read the books before the movies were done, I always pictured Charles Dickens – they were very Dickensian.”
Continuing, he explained what led to him rejecting the chance to direct the Harry Potter film series in the first place.
“The situation of Harry Potter reminded me a lot of Pip from Great Expectations,” del Toro admitted. “I saw them as deeper, more creaky, more corroded; then [the stories] were textured very differently when the first two movies came out. They were so bright and happy and full of light, that I wasn’t interested.”
Considering how he claimed he would have thought about returning had Warner Bros. called him back, Guillermo del Toro could still hit the jackpot by trying his hand at the upcoming Harry Potter reboot series—but, of course, only if he is offered to.
