Nicholas Hoult got backlash recently for joining the new HBO “Harry Potter” series, where he was supposed to play Gilderoy Lockhart. Hoult has a strong online fanbase, and some fans criticized him for participating in a project connected to J.K. Rowling because of her views on transgender issues.
Today, Hoult dropped out of ‘Harry Potter’ and has been replaced by Kit Harrington. Hoult’s reason was “scheduling issues,” and hey, maybe it really was “scheduling issues,” but the timing is rather odd given that Hoult had been cast just a week ago. Did he not double-check his “schedule” before committing to Potter?
Hoult’s appeal, and his image, are unequivocally tied to being a “nice guy,” and his fanbase is intertwined with women and LGBT-allied people. So taking a role in Harry Potter isn’t exactly the best move for his image. Did his team convince him to drop out?
Meanwhile, I don’t think Harrington, or his team, honestly gives a crap about online perception. He doesn’t have Hoult’s intensely loyal fanbase or carefully built public persona, so there’s probably less for him to risk by taking the role.
We all know HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ series will be very popular, and that’s despite Pedro Pascal calling for a boycott in response to J.K. Rowling’s gleeful support of a UK Supreme Court decision that legally defined “woman” and “sex” as referring exclusively to individuals born biologically female.
Rowling celebrated the ruling, and that seemed to have triggered Pascal, who condemned Rowling’s stance as “awful disgusting SHIT” and “heinous LOSER behavior” in a post on Instagram. He also endorsed activist Tariq Ra’ouf’s call to boycott Harry Potter-related projects, emphasizing the importance of defending trans communities.
In recent years, Rowling’s outspoken stance on trans issues has generated heated debate—so much so that, for some fans online, she’s become a villain rivaling Voldemort himself. Chris Columbus, director of the first two ‘Harry Potter’ movies, vowed to never work with her again and noted that neither will the original trio of actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.
The upcoming Max series is set to be one of the most expensive television productions ever, with a projected total budget of approximately $2 billion. This substantial investment will span seven seasons, each with an estimated budget of close to $300M.
“Other Mommy” has a budget of just $19M. Even if it craters next weekend and limps to, say, a $60M domestic total, Universal and Blumhouse/Atomic Monster will make money on this one.