Directors Turned Down Harry Potter Series Over JK Rowling’s Involvement

Director Ally Pankiw has claimed she gave the new Harry Potter series the brush-off when the opportunity to direct an episode presented itself.

Ally has previously directed prolific TV shows like Feel Good and Black Mirror, and on Thursday, shared screenshots of what appeared to be a conversation between herself and a member of her team about US broadcaster HBO’s upcoming adaptation of JK Rowling’s children’s books.

“I have an instinct on the answer but I feel compelled to ask… Harry Potter? Hard no?” they ask, to which she apparently responded: “Absolutely fucking not! Lol (But thank you for asking).”

Fellow filmmaker Kate Herron – who directed the Disney+ series Loki, The Last Of Us for HBO and Netflix’s Sex Education – quickly popped up in the comments, agreeing: “Yeah thank you exactly! Respect and love to you Ally.

“They’ve asked me twice and I’ve had to explain my answer is never gonna change from a no.”

“It simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!” Ally also wrote in her post’s caption.

Since it was announced, the Harry Potter series has been met with scrutiny due to Rowling’s involvement in the project as an executive producer.

While Rowling has previously denied being transphobic, she has become a divisive figure in recent history thanks to her views and ongoing commentary on issues relating to transgender people.

This has included repeatedly and intentionally misgendering transgender public figures, as well as donating tens of thousands of pounds to the campaign group which raised the initial legal challenge that led to the UK Supreme Court’s ruling last year that the legal definition of a woman should include only those who were assigned female at birth.

After the ruling, she shared a celebratory post, depicting herself smoking a cigar on a yacht.

The new Harry Potter series will premiere later this year, with cast members including John Lithgow, Nick Frost and Bel Powley among those to already face questioning about Rowling.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Nicholas Hoult will be appearing in season two, prompting backlash from many of his fans.