Chris Columbus is excited for the next chapter in the Harry Potter universe.
The filmmaker, 66, spoke with PEOPLE exclusively at the Los Angeles premiere of Nosferatu, where he reacted to the news that Harry Potter is being adapted into a television series for HBO, following a successful string of films — two of which Columbus directed.
“I think it’s a spectacular idea, because there’s a certain restriction when you’re making a film,” Columbus said.
“Our film was two hours and 40 minutes, and the second one was almost as long,” he continued, referencing the runtimes for 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, respectively.
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According to Columbus, he and others who worked on the first two Harry Potter films “tried to get as much of the book in as possible.”
Given that the upcoming HBO project, which is set to begin production soon, will be a series, there will be room to include more from J.K. Rowling’s books, including plot points that may have previously been cut from the films.
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“The fact that they have the leisure of [multiple] episodes for each book, I think that’s fantastic,” Columbus said. “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 director — who also helmed Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Mrs. Doubtfire — added, “I look forward to seeing what they’re trying to do with it. I think it’s great.”
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While casting and production on the TV series are still underway, fans have already begun dream casting who they would want to see in the new Harry Potter roles.
One popular fan cast that has gained popularity online is for Cillian Murphy to portray the villainous Lord Voldemort, who was previously played by Ralph Fiennes in the Harry Potter film series.
“Well, Cillian is one of my favorite actors, so that would be amazing,” Columbus told PEOPLE. (Fiennes, 62, himself even backed Murphy, 48, for the role during an episode of Watch What Happens Live, where he said, “Cillian is a fantastic actor … I would be all in favor of Cillian.”)
All eight Harry Potter films are available to stream.
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