Loki director Kate Herron reveals she turned down HBO’s Harry Potter twice
Kate Herron (Getty Images)
Director Kate Herron has revealed she turned down opportunities to work on HBO Max’s Harry Potter reboot, not once but twice.
Herron shared the news in the comments of an Instagram post by fellow director Ally Pankiw, who last week revealed she had told her team “absolutely f****** not” when approached about the show.
“They’ve asked me twice and I’ve had to explain my answer is never gonna change from a no,” Herron wrote.
Herron is a highly experienced television director, best known for executive producing and directing the first season of Marvel’s Loki, as well as work on Sex Education, The Last of Us and Doctor Who.
Pankiw later shouted out Herron’s refusal on her Instagram Stories, writing: “Also want to shout out the amazing Kate Herron who also said no… twice! And that’s actually hard!”
The objections from both directors stem from JK Rowling‘s involvement in gender-critical politics.
Since 2020, the author has become an increasingly prominent campaigner for “women’s sex-based rights”, also offering legal funding to fight for them.
She will serve as an executive producer on the new series, which begins streaming on HBO Max this Christmas.
In an interview with Them, Pankiw said she hoped others would follow suit. “The more artists working at a high level who refuse to engage in work for companies that hurt marginalised communities… the more those companies will realise that maybe these investments are not as worth it as they thought,” she said.
The series’ cast have repeatedly been pressed on Rowling’s views. Bel Powley, who plays Petunia Dursley, said she “strongly disagrees” with the author’s beliefs, while John Lithgow and Nick Frost have also distanced themselves from her stance.
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
