Absolutely not; the Gemino curse did not fall upon Nick Frost. Yet, when Harry Potter director Chris Columbus laid eyes on snapshots of the Hot Fuzz actor donning Hagrid's attire for the upcoming HBO series, a peculiar sense of déjà vu enveloped him. "I stumbled upon these photographs online," Chris, who steered the helm of the initial two Harry Potter films, revealed during an upcoming segment on The Rest is Entertainment podcast, according to Deadline. "And there he was, clad in the very same costume we crafted for Hagrid. A part of me pondered, what's the novelty here?"
"I had assumed everything—the costumes, the whole shebang—would be a departure from the past, but it's more of the same old, same old," continued the 66-year-old. "It's all going to mirror the original."
Indeed, initial glimpses from the shoot featuring Nick in character revealed a striking semblance to the late Robbie Coltrane's ensemble in the original film series. His unkempt hair and beard, accompanied by a green overcoat and a red sweater, bore an uncanny resemblance.
Chris, however, took no offense to the similarities. "It's quite flattering, really, because I'm thinking, that's precisely the Hagrid costume we devised," he added. "So, it's thrilling in parts. I'm eager to witness what they'll do with it. It's a blend of excitement and a sense of 'déjà vu all over again.'"
The Home Alone director also affirmed that his sentiments towards the remake weren't rooted in envy. "Jealous? Not at all," he said. "It's time to move past it. I've always had qualms about the franchise concept. I feel like I've done my bit. I'm incredibly proud of those films, the first three I was involved with, and I'm moving forward."
Previously, Chris had spoken about the TV series' potential to incorporate more intricate details from the book series that had to be omitted from the movies. "The magnificent aspect of it," he told Variety on August 25, "is that with the first, second, and third books, we yearned to encapsulate it all. We wanted to translate every bit onto the screen, but we didn't have the scope."
Among the excised details were the beloved character of Peeves the poltergeist and a pivotal scene where Harry and Hermione had to decipher a riddle and consume enigmatic potions en route to acquiring the Sorcerer's Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone, depending on your geographical locale). "We could never fit that breathtaking scene into the film, and I'm confident it'll feature in the HBO series," Chris said. "For me, it's a chance to breathe life into all those scenes."
