Gary Oldman claims HBO’s Harry Potter will be ‘more satisfying’ than the films amid backlash

Gary Oldman has shared his thoughts on HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series amid all the backlash, and he claims it could actually be “more satisfying” than the original films.

Gary Oldman played Sirius Black in four of the Harry Potter films. And for a lot of people, those movies were basically their entire childhood. Although the franchise is now heavily associated with JK Rowling’s outrageous views on trans rights, loads of people still have a huge amount of nostalgia for the Harry Potter books and films.

The new HBO show has already faced loads of backlash over its casting and the decision to retell a story that is still so closely tied to the original movies. Still, Oldman thinks the new series could actually be “more satisfying” to watch.

So, why does he think the show will be better?

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gary Oldman said, “We had to cut a lot. And still we could only get the films down to, like, three hours,” he said.

He then added, “I believe [the TV series is] gonna do it pretty much word-for-word. Which I think, as a viewer, would be more satisfying.”

Oldman also explained that “a lot of character detail was sacrificed.” And that is because the films had to fit within their usual “two-and-a-half-hour window”.

Oldman has also previously admitted that he wishes his character had been given more to do in the movies. Speaking to IndieWire in 2024, he said of Sirius, “He wasn’t in it enough. He turned up and then he went through the veil.”

He’s also been surprisingly harsh about his own performance in the franchise. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Oldman said, “I think my work is mediocre in it.”

He explained, “Maybe if I had read the books like Alan [Rickman], if I had got ahead of the curve, if I had known what’s coming, I honestly think I would have played it differently.”

He added, “It’s like anything, if I sat and watched myself in something and said, ‘My god, I’m amazing,’ that would be a very sad day. Because you want to make the next thing better.”

But he still has loads of love for the original films

Oldman clearly still has loads of love for his time in the Wizarding World. He said he’s “proud” and “grateful” for being part of Harry Potter. He called it “such a phenomenon, the like of which I don’t think you’re ever gonna see again.”

Oldman also gave credit to the original cast and director Chris Columbus, who he said “set the world up and cast it”.

“We were extraordinarily lucky to have those people come back again, and again, and again, and literally grow into those roles,” Oldman said.

As for the new series, HBO has not yet announced who will play Sirius Black. Ben Barnes has been heavily rumoured by fans, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

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