With HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, plenty of people are revisiting the early 2000s film. Or, in the case of Andrew Garfield (The Magic Faraway Tree), discovering them for the first time.
The actor recently revealed he watched the films for the 1st time, but didn’t know that doing so was “controversial” at the time.
Garfield‘s Reaction
“I hadn’t watched the Harry Potters until recently … and he’s [Daniel Radcliffe] really good in those Harry Potter movies. Those Harry Potter movies were really good,” he told the Hits Radio show My Life In Movies. “I know it’s like controversial. And like, we shouldn’t be — you know — putting money in the pocket of inhumane legislation right now through she that shall remain nameless. But the soul and the spirit of a lot of the essence of the themes of those films, and the kids are so good.”
The controversy he is referring to is the films being based on books by J.K. Rowling, a trans-exclusionary radical feminist (TERF). The author believes that trans women are not women. Therefore, any strides forward for trans women somehow rob cis women of their rights. Rowling also likes to post about these kinds of issues, A LOT. Making it to the point where even diehard fans can’t look past her hateful beliefs enough to enjoy the IP anymore.
The legislation Garfield alludes to is one such crusade where Rowling donated to For Women Scotland. An organization that brought a legal challenge over how the word “woman” is defined in UK equality law. In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the definition of woman refers to biological sex.
Currently, she is praising the International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s events.
HBO’s Harry Potter series is slated for release on December 25, 2026. You can check out Andrew Garfield’s interview below:
