Chris Columbus on ‘Harry Potter’ TV series and Voldemort casting

Chris Columbus offers two thumbs up for the Harry Potter television series.

The veteran director, who helmed the first two films in the wands-and-wizards film franchise, called HBO’s upcoming series adaptation “a spectacular idea, because there’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film.”

Columbus noted that “our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long,” the director of 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets told PEOPLE on Sunday. Though his team “tried to get as much of the book in as possible,” he said, there’s only so much material from hundreds upon hundreds of pages you can fit into a film.

“The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that’s fantastic,” Columbus continued. “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.”

The Harry Potter franchise is adapted from the series of uber-successful novels by the British author J.K. Rowling. While half of the eight films in the franchise were directed by David Yates, who also helmed the Fantastic Beasts prequel trilogy, Columbus set the template for the franchise with his series opener and follow-up.

“I look forward to seeing what they’re trying to do with it,” Columbus said of the new TV adaptation, which was first announced in 2021. “I think it’s great.”

While the Harry Potter books have been adapted to a series of films, video games, a stage production, and even a theme park attraction, this will be the first time Harry, Ron, and Hermoine will hit the small screen. Original actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint aren’t expected to return for the series, but Rowling is involved.

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The author has become controversial due to what her critics describe as phobic and abusive anti-transgender views. Last November, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys said that the series hadn’t “felt any impact” from Rowling’s involvement, which he characterized as “fairly involved — she was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and the director.”

Bloys also noted, “I imagine she’ll have opinions on casting” — a topic that Columbus had opinions on too.

When asked about numerous fancastings of Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy as evil incarnate, Lord Voldemort, Columbus responded, “Well, Cillian is one of my favorite actors, so that would be amazing.”

Ralph Fiennes, who played Voldemort in the Harry Potter films, agreed that “Cillian is a fantastic actor,” on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, saying, “I actually think that’s a wonderful, wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian.”

Fiennes stars in the upcoming horror film sequel 28 Years Later, which is executive produced by Murphy, who starred in the original film 28 Days Later and may appear as his character Jim at some point.

A casting call for the Harry Potter series seeking U.K.- and Ireland-based children between the ages of 9-11 was put out in September to find the next Harry, Ron, and Hermoine. In June, the series found its executive producer and director (of some episodes) in Succession‘s Mark Mylod, and its showrunner and lead writer in Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials).