HBO chief Casey Bloys has lashed out over questions about attaching controversial author JK Rowling to the freshly announced television remake about her iconic characters.
Rowling, who has ruffled feathers in the past over her extremely negative stance on trans rights and issues, has been listed as an executive producer on the highly-anticipated remake.
When he was asked about the possibility that Rowling could see high-profile actors turn down the TV project, he refused to discuss the issue.
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"No, I don’t think this is the forum," he said as per Variety.
"That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into."
Bloys went on to add that off-screen drama involving the author is irrelevant as HBO's 'priority is what’s on the screen'.
"Obviously, the ‘Harry Potter’ story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority - what’s on screen," he said.
He doubled down, making the billionaire author's position clear.
"[Rowling] will be involved. She’s an executive producer on the show. Her insights are going to be helpful on that.”
He went on to reveal how excited staffers at HBO and their freshly-renamed streaming service Max are over the announcement.
"The TV show is new and we’re excited about that, but, remember, we’ve been in the ‘Potter’ business for 20 years," he said.
"This is not a new decision for us, we’re very comfortable being in the ‘Potter’ business."
He added: "We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way."
Rowling has since issued a statement to gush over the massive Harry Potter update.
"Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series," she said as per ComingSoon.
The newly-announced Max Original series will dive deep into each of one of Rowling's iconic books that have kept fans delighted for decades.
Despite the information about HBO's newest television offering leaking on April 3, HBO is still keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to further details on talent.
"We have been trying to be very close to the vest, But we haven’t gone out to agencies yet," Bloys said.
"We have our own internal process where we’ve been thinking about people, but we have not wanted to go out into the world saying, ‘Who do you have?’ But now that the news is out, we will start.”
Topics: Harry Potter, JK Rowling, TV and Film
Rachel Lang