Miracle Workers: Dark Ages lead Daniel Radcliffe isn’t interested in returning to the franchise that made him a star. As the Harry Potter franchise continues to thrive with the upcoming third film in the Fantastic Beasts series and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway, Radcliffe shared his hesitation on returning to Hogwarts, as well as why he thinks people are so startled by his later roles.
In an interview with Variety, Radcliffe was asked whether he’d considered revising his role as Harry Potter in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series. Barring the fact that Fantastic Beasts is a prequel and would need to go to extreme lengths to justify his inclusion, Radcliffe responded that it’s not something that he wants to do at this time. Not only because he thinks the franchise is doing fine without him and his Harry Potter co-stars, but also because he doesn’t want to sign onto another franchise that requires several film projects. This could explain why Moon Knight isn’t happening, as well as why J.K. Rowling dismissed rumours of a Cursed Child trilogy.
“I don’t like to say no to things, but it’s not something that I’m rushing to do. I feel like those films have moved on and they’re doing just fine without us. I’m happy to keep it that way. I like what my life is now,” he said. “I’m not saying that I’ll never go back into any franchise, but I like the flexibility that I have with my career now. And I don’t want to get into a situation where I’m signed up for one series for years in advance.”
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Out of his main co-stars, Radcliffe has had the most unconventional post-Harry Potter career. Instead of coasting on sweet early retirement money, he’s taken on projects that run the gamut of curiosities—from playing a bloated corpse in Swiss Army Man to an angelic assistant in Miracle Workers, even Igor in Victor Frankenstein. He’s gained a reputation for taking on anything that’s “weird,” but Radcliffe doesn’t totally agree with that assessment.
He told Variety that people tend to identify him so much with his bespectacled counterpart (not surprising, considering many grew up watching him as Harry) that it makes it strange for them to see him in more unconventional roles. “I accept the label in that there’s nothing I’ve shied away from, but I wasn’t like, ‘find me the weirdest thing out there.’ I wasn’t picking projects that were weird for weird’s sake,” he said. “I think people saw me play one thing for so long that it seems more notable that I do loads of different stuff now.”
Miracle Workers: Dark Ages is currently airing on TBS.