Harry Potter has returned to Hogwarts and, with him, all those who shared the success of the saga that marked more than one generation. Rather, almost all of them. Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts has premiered on HBO Max and in the 20th anniversary documentary, The Boy Who Survived is reunited with his best friends, Ron and Hermione (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson). Also with her former teachers and with the entire team of directors, producers and professionals who shaped JK Rowling’s books. This has been precisely the great absence of the documentary.
The author of the Harry Potter books appears in Return to hogwarts with 2019 stock footage, but the documentary team has not conducted a personal interview as in the case of the other actors. She was invited, however. As recently published Entertainment Weekly, JK Rowling was invited to participate in the special, but the author’s team decided that the archival statements that were available were sufficient for the documentary.
The statements that affected ‘Return to Hogwarts’
Why has the author of the saga not participated in Return to hogwarts to remember the world that she created herself? To this day, Rowling remains a controversial figure, after writing an article in 2020 claiming to be concerned about “trans activism” and the impact it could have on new generations. He also compared hormones to antidepressants. Statements like this have linked it to the TERF movement (Transexclusionary Radical Feminists), which advocates that trans women are not women.
Although the author of Harry Potter later declared that she is not transphobic and that the lives behind matter, her previous views have tainted Rowling’s name for some. Sources close to the writer stated that the controversy surrounding her did not influence in the decision not to participate in Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts. However, neither Rowling’s representative nor herself have made public statements in this regard.
In addition to the convictions by LGTBQ + rights organizations, Emma Watson and actor Eddie Redmayne (the protagonist of the saga of Fantastic Animals) demonstrated in support of the trans community after JK Rowling’s statements. Daniel Radcliffe did the same long before the premiere of Return to hogwarts.
Radcliffe was not silent
In this case, the actor who played Harry Potter wrote a open letter in the place The Trevor Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ people.
I really hope you don’t completely lose what was valuable in these stories to you. If these books taught you that love is the most powerful force in the universe, capable of surpassing anything. If you were taught that strength is found in diversity and that dogmatic ideas of purity lead to the oppression of vulnerable groups. If you think that a particular character is trans, non-binary or gender fluid, or that he or she is gay or bisexual. If you found something in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any point in your life, then that is between you and the book, and that is sacred. And in my opinion, nobody can touch that. It means to you what it means to you and I hope these comments don’t pollute too much.
Daniel Radcliffe
Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts It has been one of the most anticipated reunions for fans of the saga. The documentary’s strong point is the first-hand statements of the actors who lived the filming of the first film and the evolution of the saga. Knowing how Daniel Radcliffe felt in his first appearance as Harry Potter is much more than endearing; but to know how Rowling felt when she saw the world she created for the first time on screen we have to go back to images and statements from 2019.