Well, it appears that Warner Brothers just might be taking the Harry Potter spin-off adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them more seriously than I thought. Less than a week after officially announcing the film’s Nov. 18, 2016 release date, the studio appears to be on the verge of hiring a director. To my incredible surprise, that director is none other than Alfonso Cuaron.
According to a tweet from reporter Nikki Finke, Cuaron is “deep in talks” to take the director’s chair for the Harry Potter spin-off film. Most of the world probably best knows him best as the recent Oscar winning director of Gravity, but Harry Potter fan-boys like myself know him better as the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Prisoner of Azkaban is seen by many to be the best film in the series and currently holds the second-highest rating on Rotten Tomatoes behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2.
In a way, it makes sense that Cuaron is the first person they would go to for this job. My first suggestion would’ve been David Yates, but Warner Brothers already has him hard at work for Tarzan (also slated for a 2016 release). Also, Cuaron’s recent profile boost would give the film some respect and prestige that has frankly eluded Fantastic Beasts so far. I’ve got to admit though, I’m a little surprised that Cuaron appears to be saying yes. After Gravity became such a massive success, Cuaron could probably do whatever movie he wanted and I just have a hard time believing that he really wants Fantastic Beasts to be his follow-up. Though to be fair, this has certainly piqued my interest in the film.
Do you think Cuaron would make a good fit as director? Does this make you more interested in watching the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts? Give us your thoughts in the comment section below.
