When the special came out on streaming service HBO Max on January 1, Rowling – the creator of the stories about the bespectacled sorcerer’s apprentice – was one of the big absentees. Rowling did pass by, but was only seen on old archive footage. This is in contrast to actors like Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), who reappeared in front of the camera after twenty years and looked back on their roles in the film. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
“I was asked to join it, but I decided not to be a part of it. It was about the movies, not really the books,” said Rowling, whose first Harry potterbook was published in 1997. “The reunion was meant for the movie. Nobody told me not to do it. I was asked but decided not to.”