Original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus has called the incoming HBO reboot series a "spectacular idea" as it has the potential to better recreate the books.Speaking to People, Columbus said he was restricted by the relatively short runtimes of films when directing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He said the team "tried to get as much of the book in as possible," but there was only so much they could do."I think it's a spectacular idea because theres a certain restriction when youre making a film," Columbus said. "Our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long."The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that's fantastic. You can get all the stuff in the series that we didn't have an opportunity to do... All these great scenes that we just couldn't put in the films."Announced in April 2023, the Harry Potter show will be a "faithful adaptation" of the novels that looks to tell a more "in depth" story than can be told in a two hour film. Succession producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod will direct and write, the latter of which also worked on Game of Thrones.HBO is currently searching for its Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and as for who might play Dumbledore, original Sirius Black actor Gary Oldman joked he's about the right age to play the Hogwarts headmaster after debuting in The Prisoner of Azkaban 20 years ago.Actor and playwright Mark Rylance is reportedly "at the top of the casting wishlist" for the Hogwarts headmaster role, however, sticking to the originals' focus on British actors. This is perhaps unsurprising given controversial original author J.K. Rowling is "fairly involved" in casting.The Harry Potter TV show will seemingly begin filming soon in spring 2025, with HBO targeting a 2026 release window.Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.