Nobody Dies Forever on Screen: Voldemort Actor is Ready to Return To Harry Potter
If you thought the Harry Potter era was over with the release of the final Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011, you could be wrong.
Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed the evil Voldemort in the popular franchise, has revealed that he is ready to return.
"Sure, of course," the James Bond M actor told Variety when asked if he wants to play the Harry Potter archvillain again. If J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. ask him to join, in Fiennes said he would do it in a heartbeat. "No question about it," he said.
Variety caught up with Ralph Fiennes on the red carpet at the New York premiere of The Menu, a film in which he plays a mad celebrity chef.
Fiennes first inhabited the character of He Who Shall Not Be Named in the fourth instalment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He went on to appear in three more films in the franchise: Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2.
Fiennes' return as Lord Voldemort could actually happen very soon, as the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly pushing for the franchise to be revived, according to Puck News. On an earnings call last week, David Zaslav announced that he would "love to do something with J.K. on Harry Potter in the future", saying that "we haven't done a Harry Potter movie in 15 years".
It could be based on the adaptation of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Written by Jack Thorne and inspired by J K Rowling, it is often seen as the eighth instalment in the Harry Potter universe. The play, which premiered in London's West End in 2016, follows the adventures of Harry's son Albus Severus at Hogwarts in the company of the Harry Potter characters and their children.
So why not market it as a sequel to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office, bringing the total for the series to more than $7 billion?
Ralph Fiennes recently made headlines for his support of JK Rowling, who has come under fire for her comments on gender. The author is "not an über right-wing fascist," the Oscar-nominated actor told the New York Times, adding that the abuse directed at her was "disgusting".
People may be angry about what JK Rowling says about women. But "it's just a woman saying, 'I'm a woman and I feel I'm a woman and I want to be able to say I'm a woman. I understand where she's coming from," says Fiennes.