Harry Potter star Warwick Davis is 'out of touch' with J. K. Rowling controversy: 'I don't tend to read the news'
Warwick Davis is excited for the upcoming Harry Potter series, but he's keeping out of the surrounding controversy with franchise creator J.K. Rowling.
"I don't tend to read the news. It's kind of one of those things I just don't do," Davis, who played Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter films, told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday at the opening of Universal Epic Universe in Orlando. "So, I'm kind of out of touch with what's going on. It's not really something I'm particularly interested in — producing entertainment is what I do."
Rowling, a self-described TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), has repeatedly received criticism over the years for voicing anti-trans rhetoric, with original Harry Potter film stars like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint even speaking out against her views.
Most recently, the author publicly celebrated an April 16 U.K. Supreme Court ruling that excludes transgender women from the legal definition of a woman under Britain's Equality Act.
The move drew vocal criticism from various fronts, including Fantastic Four and Last of Us actor Pedro Pascal, who slammed Rowling in the comments section of a recent Instagram video from activist Tariq Ra'ouf, calling her a "heinous loser."
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan also publicly rebuked the U.K. Supreme Court ruling and Rowling. Coughlan shared a link to an article on The Cut on an Instagram Story, which she titled "This Is a New Low for J.K. Rowling," and wrote on the post: "Keep your new Harry Potter, lads. Wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole."
In the wake of the backlash, HBO's Casey Bloys, the chairman and CEO of content at HBO and Max, addressed concerns that the new series would reflect Rowling's anti-trans sentiment.
"Harry Potter is not being secretly infused with anything," he said on The Town podcast. "And she's entitled to those views. And I think people are pretty clear that she's entitled to them."
He added, "And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter."Knowledge of controversy aside, Davis remains optimistic about the new series coming from HBO.
"I love the Harry Potter stories [and] the whole concept of what Harry Potter stands for," Davis told EW. "So to see a new retelling of that story can only be a good thing."
Mark Mylod, a key figure on HBO's Succession, will serve as an executive producer for the upcoming series and direct several episodes. The series will be overseen by showrunner, writer, and executive producer Francesca Gardiner, a veteran of programs like Killing Eve and His Dark Materials. Rowling will also step into an executive producer role.
A press release emphasized how the new series will serve as a spacious vessel for the beloved book series, claiming it will be filled with "fantastic detail" as it "[explores] every corner of the wizarding world."
The series is expected to begin filming later this year.
—Additional reporting by Joey Nolfi
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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