Steven Spielberg Reveals Why He Walked Away From HARRY POTTER to Honor Stanley Kubrick's Dying Wish
Few filmmakers have a résumé as impressive as Steven Spielberg. From Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan, he helped define the modern blockbuster.
But there’s one massive franchise that could have had Spielberg’s name attached to it from the very beginning… Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
As it turns out, Spielberg was lined up to direct the first Harry Potter film, but a personal commitment led him in a different direction.
Speaking in an interview with TCM, Spielberg reflected on the decision and revealed that the passing of his friend and legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick changed everything.
When Kubrick died in 1999, he had been developing the sci-fi drama AI: Artificial Intelligence for years. The filmmaker had long intended for Spielberg to eventually direct the project, and after his death, Kubrick’s family approached Spielberg about carrying that vision forward.
Spielberg recalled: "After [Stanley Kubrick's] death, I was at the funeral at his home. Christiane [Kubrick] and Jan Harlan, her brother, approached me about taking over from Stanley, as Stanley had intended, and directing the movie."
At the time, Spielberg was already preparing for Harry Potter and the train was already leaving the station, and he was expected to be in the conductor’s seat.
He explained: "I actually walked away from Harry Potter, which I was scheduled to direct as my next movie."
The filmmaker went on to reveal just how far along he was in the process, saying: "I gave it up. It was going to be a huge movie because the book already was a runaway cultural phenomenon. I gave that up to essentially do AI."
That wasn’t a small decision. By then, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels had become a global sensation, and anticipation for the first film adaptation was sky-high. Spielberg understood exactly how massive the project was going to be, yet he felt a responsibility to help complete a film that meant so much to Kubrick.
The history of AI itself is fascinating. Kubrick acquired the rights to the story in the early 1970s and spent years trying to figure out how to bring it to life. Multiple writers worked on the project over the decades, including original short story author Brian Aldiss.
According to reports, Kubrick believed the available visual effects technology wasn’t sophisticated enough yet to realize the story properly, and he also struggled to find a child actor capable of playing the central robotic character.
Eventually, in 1995, Kubrick handed the project over to Spielberg. After Kubrick’s death, Spielberg felt the time had come to finally make the movie.
Released in 2001, AI: Artificial Intelligence starred Haley Joel Osment as David, a childlike android programmed with the ability to love who dreams of becoming human. Spielberg ultimately dedicated the film to Kubrick, ensuring his friend’s long-gestating passion project reached audiences.
Meanwhile, the Harry Potter franchise moved forward with Chris Columbus at the helm. Columbus directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which became a worldwide phenomenon, and returned for the sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
What would a Spielberg-directed Harry Potter movie have looked like? We’ll never know, but I would’ve liked to see it! Spielberg’s decision came from a place of loyalty and respect for a filmmaker he admired, and it led to the completion of a project that might otherwise have remained unfinished.