Movie Tea: Nick Frost Gears Up To Be HBO's Hagrid; Joseph & Vanessa Winter To Create New 'Amityville' Movie

Hype Malaysia

16-07-2025

There's nothing like the classics – but why not remake them for a new generation who never got to experience the original?
From everyone's favourite prophesied wizard, to the tale of a haunted house that shocked a nation – here's the lowdown on two upcoming movies that will send you down memory lane!
First Look At New Hagrid In HBO 'Harry Potter' Series
If you're in the ballpark of being 20 to 40 years old, you probably remember having the 'Harry Potter' franchise being a part of your childhood. Be it the novels or the beloved cinematic adaptation, it goes without saying that you have come across the Wizarding World in some shape or form, including the upcoming HBO series, the news of which has swept the world.
HBO is now working on introducing the story of The Boy Who Lived and his friends to the next generation. For that reason, the premium television series is hard at work when it comes to looking for the next crew to bring these characters to life and, recently, news has spread that the company has just found its Hagrid in the form of Nick Frost! You can even see him in costume with the official Instagram post below!
That's right! The decorated actor and popular comedian will be portraying everyone's favourite half-giant! For those who are unaware or in need of a refresher, Hagrid is the loveable gatekeeper to Hogwarts and the first to welcome Harry into the world of magic. He is also the first to explain Harry's ancestry, divulging the central fact that he is a wizard, beginning a deep, almost parental-like bond between the two.
Moving forward, Nick Frost will be taking care of this version of the Chosen One in the form of Dominic McLaughlin. Of course, he will be joining other fresh faces such as Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley), John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), and many more.
Being the second adaptation to stem from the same franchise, with the first one being extremely popular, Frost has some massive shoes to fill, both literally and figuratively, as he will be stepping in for the late Robbie Coltrane. However, with his acting chops and his big-man-big-heart attitude, we can easily see him rise up to the challenge and be the gatekeeper we know and love! You'll be able to catch him and the rest of the magical crew when the series premieres in 2027.
Joseph & Vanessa Winter Teaming Up To Create New Amityville Movie
In a movie market that is filled with cheap jump scare movies, it pays to be innovative. When it comes to films, people are always looking for the next movie that will shake up the status quo, or at least challenge it, and that is sure to usher in a new era of movies. It's one thing to be a trendsetter, but when you inject a fresh idea into the world of cinema that catches fire, the audience will almost never forget you!
That is the case of Joseph and Vanessa Winter, a married writer-director duo behind the SXSW found footage horror movie 'Deadstream'. Following this genre-defining film receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and moviegoers alike, the couple are once again working together on a brand new project. The only difference is that they will be revisiting old yet familiar territory with an iconic IP – the 'Amityville Horror' franchise! In a way…
Though you may be familiar with the film franchise that dominated the late 70s, as well as the 1977 bestseller novel by Jay Anson, this upcoming movie will have no relation to the previous entries that we are all familiar with. How is that? First, we must explain what the original franchise looked like.
With that being said, we can expect a retelling of Ronald DeFeo Jr., the mass murderer who killed his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in the infamous house. A year after the crime, George and Kathy Lutz moved into the home along with their three children – all unaware of its dark past. Shortly thereafter, the family reported unsettling paranormal phenomena, such as unexplained noises, cold spots, foul odours, and sightings of strange apparitions. After only 28 days, the family left the house because they could no longer put up with the purported paranormal activity.
The key difference in this move is that, according to Deadline's report, neither the DeFeo nor the Lutz story will be a factor in their interpretation of 'Amityville Horror'. This is not only a bold move to break away from a major continuity, but also offers a refreshing look at the infamous Amityville house itself.
Of course, with that news, everyone is now intrigued about what's in store for us – but the plot of this new story is buried under lock and key, and a tight one at that! What we do know is that, aside from the Winter couple writing and directing the movie, Raphael Margules & J.D. Lifshitz will produce for BoulderLight, alongside Adam Hendricks & Greg Gilreath for Divide/Conquer. If that hasn't clued you in yet, this movie will be a joint venture with BoulderLight Pictures as well as Divide/Conquer, two emerging horror heavy-hitters that were responsible for 'Barbarian' and 'Heart Eyes', respectively. Being masters of the found footage genre, as proven by their work in 'Deadstream', we're absolutely curious to see how this reimagining of an iconic horror piece can be brought back for a modern audience. With production scheduled for Q4 of 2025, we'll keep you posted on whatever comes next for this exciting yet horrifying revisit.
Source: Deadline, Variety