HARRY POTTER: Steven Spielberg Explains Why He Turned Down The Chance To Helm THE SORCERER'S STONE

HARRY POTTER: Steven Spielberg Explains Why He Turned Down The Chance To Helm THE SORCERER'S STONE

The Wizarding World is at the forefront of everyone's minds thanks to the incredible Hogwarts Legacy video game, and Steven Spielberg has now revealed why he didn't helm the first Harry Potter movie...

By JoshWilding - Feb 13, 2023 05:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Harry Potter
Source: Reliance Entertainment (via SFFGazette.com)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone if you're outside the U.S.) was released way back in 2001 and proved to be a huge hit that spawned one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Chris Columbus was at the helm of that and The Chamber of Secrets, with the franchise then jumping between a couple of different filmmakers - Alfonso Cuarón and Mike Newell - before David Yates took charge.

However, there was a time when Steven Spielberg came close to being behind the camera for the first big screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling's novels. The Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones director overseeing the Wizarding World sounds like a dream come true, but the reasons he turned the project down is one it's easy enough to empathise with. 

"The personal meaning about [how the conflict between] art and family will tear you in half happened to me later, after I had already established myself as a filmmaker, as a working director," Spielberg explained in a recent interview with Reliance Entertainment. "Kate [Capshaw] and I started raising a family and we started having children."

"The choice I had to make in taking a job that would move me to another country for four or five months where I wouldn’t see my family every day. That was a ripping kind of experience. There were several films I chose not to make. I chose to turn down the first ‘Harry Potter’ to basically spend that next year and a half with my family, my young kids growing up."

"So I’d sacrificed a great franchise, which today looking back I’m very happy to have done, to be with my family."

While Spielberg has no regrets, we've no doubt he would have jumped at the chance to bring Harry Potter to the big screen had circumstances differed. 

Given the level of success he found before and since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was released, it's fair to say the franchise probably needed Spielberg more than he needed the Boy Wizard. We also can't help but wonder whether this was going to be a one-and-done for the director or a series he might have seen through from beginning to end. 

Would you have liked to see Spielberg's take on Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments section.

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BritishMonkey
BritishMonkey - 2/13/2023, 5:56 AM
Just say Philosopher's Stone if that's what it is everywhere.
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 2/13/2023, 5:59 AM
@BritishMonkey - Sorcerer’s Stone sounds better
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 2/13/2023, 6:33 AM
@BritishMonkey - It's called the Sorcerer's Stone in the movie.

TheClungerine
TheClungerine - 2/13/2023, 6:49 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - not over here it isn't 🤣
EarlChai
EarlChai - 2/13/2023, 8:13 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - 🤦‍♀️ They literally filmed two versions of every scene where someone says the proper name of the stone.
WaffeX
WaffeX - 2/13/2023, 9:52 AM
@DudeGuy - Stein der Weisen sounds better, greetings from germany
BritishMonkey
BritishMonkey - 2/13/2023, 9:55 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - Not in every other language it isn't.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 2/13/2023, 6:02 AM
That would have been a kick ass movie!
Mugens
Mugens - 2/13/2023, 6:07 AM
All things considered, I didn't miss Spielberg's involvement at all, although I have to admit it might have been very interesting to have seen his interpretation of that first film in the franchise.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 2/13/2023, 6:34 AM
The first movie is still my favorite. Columbus brought that same feel-good charm he did to Home Alone, so I wouldn't change that at all. No doubt Spilberg could have done something special too.
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 2/13/2023, 7:45 AM
Very surprised he turned down the chance to be around that many children 😂
DudeGuy
DudeGuy - 2/13/2023, 8:05 AM
@TheFinestSmack - I missed the joke
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 2/13/2023, 8:24 AM
@TheFinestSmack -
MaxPaint
MaxPaint - 2/13/2023, 8:50 AM
@TheFinestSmack - You're confusing Spielberg with Polanski
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 2/13/2023, 12:31 PM
Spielberg no doubt would have delivered something great, but I wouldn't trade those first two Harry Potter films for anything. They're iconic. The cast, the sets, the score, it all worked out so perfectly. It's like it was meant to be, just like Lord of the Rings and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.
BGarlz92
BGarlz92 - 2/13/2023, 1:24 PM
Spielberg could have been on Autopilot and turned in a great film but I'm glad he didn't because his heart was where it needed to be. In all honesty it turned out for the best, especially since he doesn't regret it one bit.
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