{"id":45923,"date":"2026-08-15T04:49:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T23:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45923"},"modified":"2026-08-15T04:49:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T23:49:26","slug":"black-mirror-director-turns-down-offer-to-work-on-harry-potter-series-absolutely-fucking-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45923","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Black Mirror&#8217; director turns down offer to work on &#8216;Harry Potter&#8217; series: &#8220;Absolutely fucking not&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/black-mirror\"><i>Black Mirror<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i>director Ally Pankiw has said she rejected an opportunity to work on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/tag\/HBO\">HBO<\/a>\u2018s upcoming\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/tag\/harry-potter\"><i>Harry Potter<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i>series because of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/j-k-rowling\">J.K. Rowling<\/a>\u2018s views on gender.<\/p>\n<p>Pankiw, who directed the 2023\u00a0<i>Black Mirror\u00a0<\/i>episode \u2018Joan\u00a0Is\u00a0Awful\u2019,\u00a0shared a screenshot on Instagram of what appeared\u00a0to be an exchange with her representative, who wrote: \u201cI have an instinct\u00a0on the\u00a0answer\u00a0but I feel compelled to ask. Harry\u00a0Potter?\u00a0Hard\u00a0no?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbsolutely fucking not! Lol\u2026 (But thank you for asking),\u201d Pankiw replied. Her representative responded: \u201cOf course :)\u2026 I assumed as much\u2026 (And agree).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian filmmaker captioned the post: \u201cIt simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!\u201d, and\u00a0later clarified that the offer was \u201cfor directing, not acting\u2026obviously lol.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u2018Black Mirror\u2019 director Ally Pankiw reveals she turned down directing the \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 HBO series:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia!\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/akGyYNSK86\">pic.twitter.com\/akGyYNSK86<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Pop Base (@PopBase) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PopBase\/status\/2088269316240097758?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the comments,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/series\/loki\"><i>Loki<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i>director Kate Herron said she had also been\u00a0approached about\u00a0the series on more than one occasion. \u201cThey\u2019ve asked me twice and I\u2019ve had to explain my answer is never going to change from a no,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Pankiw\u2019s reference to \u201ctransphobia\u201d relates to Rowling\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/film\/j-k-rowling-reveals-loved-ones-begged-her-to-keep-anti-trans-views-private-3760639\">controversial views on gender and public hostility to the trans community<\/a>. The author is serving as an executive producer on the new HBO show, and her\u00a0views have led to calls for a boycott of the series, while many actors have faced criticism for\u00a0their\u00a0involvement.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/nicholas-hoult-criticised-for-joining-hbos-harry-potter-3962256\">Nicholas Hoult was announced as Gilderoy Lockhart and was criticised by some fans for agreeing to be a part of the show<\/a>. He has not publicly responded to the backlash.<\/p>\n<p>Several other cast members have distanced themselves from Rowling\u2019s views, with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/harry-potter-star-bel-powley-strongly-disagrees-with-j-k-rowlings-gender-views-i-think-the-trans-community-deserve-safety-and-dignity-3961839\">Petunia Dursley actor Bel Powley saying she \u201cstrongly disagrees\u201d with Rowling on the issue<\/a>, adding: \u201cI think that the trans community deserve safety and dignity and respect and total acceptance\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>John Lithgow, who is playing Albus Dumbledore,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/dumbledore-actor-considered-quitting-hbo-harry-potter-series-over-j-k-rowlings-anti-trans-views-3935682\">said he considered leaving the project after receiving criticism but\u00a0ultimately chose\u00a0to stay<\/a>. He has described Rowling\u2019s views as \u201cironic and inexplicable\u201d, while saying the books themselves are \u201cclearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Nick Frost, who is portraying Rubeus Hagrid,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/nick-frost-hits-out-at-j-k-rowling-over-trans-views-following-harry-potter-tv-show-casting-3868529\">said his opinions \u201cdon\u2019t align in any way, shape or form\u201d with Rowling\u2019s<\/a>. Severus Snape actor Paapa Essiedu, meanwhile,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/tv\/harry-potter-star-paapa-essiedu-says-he-received-death-threats-after-being-cast-as-snape-in-hbo-series-3935960\">signed an open letter calling for the UK entertainment industry to protect trans rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>HBO\u2019s adaptation is planned to run for seven seasons, with each instalment covering one of Rowling\u2019s original books. The first, based on\u00a0<i>Harry Potter\u00a0And\u00a0The\u00a0Philosopher\u2019s Stone<\/i>, premieres on HBO Max on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('consent', 'revoke');\n  fbq('init', '370979561341328');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Mirror\u00a0director Ally Pankiw has said she rejected an opportunity to work on\u00a0HBO\u2018s upcoming\u00a0Harry Potter\u00a0series because of\u00a0J.K. Rowling\u2018s views on gender. Pankiw, who directed the 2023\u00a0Black Mirror\u00a0episode \u2018Joan\u00a0Is\u00a0Awful\u2019,\u00a0shared a screenshot on Instagram of what appeared\u00a0to be an exchange with her representative, who wrote: \u201cI have an instinct\u00a0on the\u00a0answer\u00a0but I feel compelled to ask. Harry\u00a0Potter?\u00a0Hard\u00a0no?\u201d \u201cAbsolutely&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/harry-potter-still@2000x1270.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}