Before Harry Potter became the family-friendly franchise we know today, David Fincher pitched Warner Bros. a darker vision of the wizarding world. The acclaimed director revealed during a recent Se7en 4K re-release interview that he was approached to discuss bringing J.K. Rowling’s magical universe to the screen. His concept? Something closer to the dark, much more adult black comedy Withnail and I than the eventual Chris Columbus-directed adaptation that went on to become a major box office hit that also kicked off the wildly popular franchise.
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“I was asked to come in and talk to them about how I would do ‘Harry Potter,’” Fincher explained to Variety. “I remember saying, ‘I just don’t want to do the clean Hollywood version of it. I want to do something that looks a lot more like ‘Withnail and I,’ and I want it to be kind of creepy.’” The studio, however, had different plans, seeking what Fincher describes as “Thom Browne schooldays by way of ‘Oliver.’”
For those unfamiliar, Withnail and I is a 1987 British comedy following two unemployed actors who go on a vacation that ends up not being as relaxing as one might expect. The film, while a comedy, features many adult and tragic themes as well has a “creepier” tone. While Harry Potter is certainly a story that is more geared towards a younger audience, it also isn’t difficult to see that, given some of that world’s general subject matter, Fincher might have wanted to go darker. It also seems like it’s the actual story elements itself that was of most interest to Fincher, who further explained that he generally isn’t drawn to projects that have pre-existing popularity and audience — which was certainly the case for the Harry Potter books.
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“Is there a built-in audience? That’s somebody else’s job,” he insisted. “Those books get sold to movie studios when it’s shown that there’s a built-in audience, so I’m usually coming into the food chain after it’s been decided that this is something tasty.”
He continued, “There are different things about stories that resonate with you based on movies you love and the kind of movies that you made. So I don’t know how I choose things to be involved with, but you get a hankering where you go, ‘I’d like to see this, and I’d like to see it done this way.’” He added, “I like the idea that you can kind of pick and choose where you’re going to spend your efforts — what you’re going to underline, and what you’re going to blur.”
The director’s unmade Potter film joins a list of unrealized projects, including The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo sequels, an adaptation of Rendezvous With Rama, and a World War Z follow-up. Currently, Fincher is reportedly developing an American version of Squid Game for Netflix and a Chinatown prequel miniseries co-written with the late Robert Towne.
Fincher’s revelation comes as Harry Potter prepares for its next incarnation as an HBO series. Under showrunner Francesca Gardiner and Succession director Mark Mylod, the new adaptation promises to devote an entire season to each of Rowling’s seven books. The creative team aims to “really dig into the character arcs” and explore various Hogwarts characters who received limited screen time in the original films, though they’ve emphasized their intention not to “mess with” iconic elements like the Great Hall’s appearance.
The upcoming HBO series is actively casting its leads, with approximately 32,000 children auditioning in Ireland and the UK for the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Mark Rylance is reportedly being considered for Dumbledore, while Paapa Essiedu is a frontrunner for Severus Snape. The series, which will feature Rowling as executive producer, is set to begin filming in the summer of 2025 at Leavesden Studios, where the original movies were filmed, with an expected Max debut in 2026.
