Will David Yates return for Harry Potter TV series? “Never say never”

David Yates probably knows as much about the Wizarding World as anyone, but will he be returning for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series?

David Yates was asked that very question by Deadline, and his response leaves the door open while not committing to anything. “Never say never,” Yates said. The director first boarded the franchise with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and went on to helm Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One and Two. He also returned for the Fantastic Beasts franchise, directing all three films in the spin-off series. “I started on Potter in 2005, so it’s been an amazing journey,” Yates added.

The last installment of the Fantastic Beasts series, The Secrets of Dumbledore, was a box-office bomb and the lowest-grossing film in the entire Wizarding World franchise. Although the franchise was meant to include five movies, Warner Bros. hasn’t been in any hurry to announce a follow-up. “We made the last one, Secrets of Dumbledore, through the pandemic, pre-vaccine, so we were just shooting that movie without vaccines,” Yates explained, “It was a tough old ride to get it together. Huge affection and a lovely group of people I worked with. But we haven’t had a conversation since we finished it. It’s been about ‘Let’s just park it, and be done for a while.’“

Although David Yates isn’t about to turn down any involvement in the Harry Potter TV series, he said that he is excited to move on. “I have other projects on my desk, which are a million miles away from wizards and involved all sorts of things which are non-wizard associated.“

The Harry Potter TV series will feature a new cast, with each season said to be covering one novel. While the movies were able to fit quite a lot in, there were plenty of moments cut from the novels that the TV series will finally be able to bring to life. One person who won’t be back for the series is Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. “My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” Radcliffe said this summer. “So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.“