Don’t expect David Tennant to return in the Harry Potter TV series remake. The actor played Barty Crouch Jr. in the film series, but when he was asked about the possibility of returning to the franchise this weekend, he seemed doubtful at best. Tennant is an outspoken ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, which has put him at odds with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling in recent years. Since Rowling is an executive producer on the upcoming series, Tennant predicted he would not be invited back to reprise his role, in any case. So far, Rowling has not responded to this latest volley in her perpetual online feud with Tennant and others.
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Tennant’s commentary came at Planet Comicon 2025 in Kansas City this weekend, during a Q&A event with fans. When someone asked Tennant if he would be open to reprising his role as Crouch if asked, he answered, “I mean, they’re great stories. I feel like my contribution has probably been made. I’m told there’s an executive producer that doesn’t love me all that much. I was told, recently…”
There, Tennant was cut off as the crowd cheered, and he moved on to the next question. The actor has a lot of upcoming work to promote, ironically including another adaptation with a controversial author — Good Omens. However, Tennant has made his personal stance on LGBTQIA+ rights clear enough for anyone to follow.
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Tennant has a long history of overt support for the LGBTQIA+ community, and in recent years, has taken particular care to shout out non-binary people by wearing a pin with the non-binary pride flag during public appearances. These kinds of demonstrations of solidarity even won Tennant the 2024 “Celebrity Ally” award at the British LGBT Awards last year.
Naturally, this has put Tennant at odds with Rowling, who has taken a strong stand against transgender rights over the last five years, allying herself with far-right activists and pundits in the process. Many former Harry Potter stars have distanced themselves from Rowling through this transformation, and she has lashed out at them on social media. Tennant is no different — over the years, as Tennant has voiced support for people of all genders publicly, Rowling has responded to his quotes in her posts on X (formerly known as Twitter.)
Rowling’s involvement in the Harry Potter remake complicates the project for a lot of fans, who are unwilling to support her and her rhetoric in any way. Many have vowed to boycott the franchise so long as she profits from it. That means any actors who accept roles on this show risk drawing criticism from the LGBTQIA+ community as well, and it will be difficult for them to demonstrate that they don’t support Rowling’s misinformation and bigotry.
The Harry Potter remake is in production now, and is expected to air sometime next year on HBO and Max. Good Omens Season 3 is also filming now, but its release date on Prime Video has not yet been announced.
