‘Black Mirror’ and ‘Loki’ Directors Both Turned Down HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Due to J.K. Rowling’s Transphobia: “Absolutely F*cking Not”

HBO’s ‘Harry Potter‘ series has been building its cast and creative team for months now, with each new casting announcement adding another layer to a franchise that’s been shadowed by controversy long before its first episode airs. That tension has mostly played out through actor statements and social media commentary, but this week it took a more direct turn.

Two respected television directors have now gone public about turning down the opportunity to work on the show entirely, framing their decisions as a matter of principle rather than scheduling conflicts or creative disagreements. Their comments add a new dimension to a debate that has followed the series since it was first announced.

Ally Pankiw, known for directing episodes of ‘Black Mirror’ and ‘The Great,’ along with Kate Herron, known for ‘Loki’ and ‘Doctor Who,’ both revealed they rejected offers to direct for HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ series specifically because of author J.K. Rowling’s views on transgender rights, which they and others have characterized as transphobic.

Pankiw shared what appeared to be a screenshot of a text message exchange with her agent, in which the agent asked, “Harry Potter? Hard no?” Her response left little room for interpretation: “Absolutely f—ing not! lol… (But thank you for asking).”

Pankiw explained her reasoning directly, writing, “It simply is this easy to say no to funding transphobia,” while clarifying that the opportunity had been for directing rather than acting. That framing turned what could have been a private career decision into a public statement about where she draws her own lines.

Herron responded in the comments of Pankiw’s post, revealing she’d faced the same inquiry not once but twice. She wrote that she’d had to explain her answer was never going to change, calling it a firm and repeated “no” regardless of how many times the offer came back around.

This isn’t the first time people connected to the Harry Potter franchise have publicly separated themselves from Rowling’s stance on trans issues. Original film trilogy stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have all previously distanced themselves from the author over the same subject, a rift that has persisted for years within the broader fandom.

Even actors who signed on for HBO’s new adaptation haven’t been uniformly aligned with Rowling on the issue. Nick Frost, who plays Hagrid in the series, has previously stated that his opinion simply doesn’t align with hers in any way, a sentiment echoed to varying degrees by castmates including John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, and Bel Powley.

Lithgow’s own comments on the subject have shifted somewhat over time. He initially downplayed concerns about accepting his role as Dumbledore, telling The Times UK that Rowling’s stance gave him no pause, before later describing her position as “ironic and inexplicable” during comments made at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

HBO’s ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ is set to debut on Christmas Day, streaming exclusively on HBO Max globally, with Rowling serving as an executive producer alongside Neil Blair, David Heyman, and Ruth Kenley-Letts. That producer credit ensures her presence remains tied directly to the project, regardless of how many individual collaborators choose to keep their distance.

Pankiw’s public refusal, paired with Herron’s confirmation that she’d been approached multiple times, suggests HBO’s search for directing talent has run into this same ideological friction more than once behind the scenes. Whether that pattern continues to surface as more of the series’ creative team gets revealed remains to be seen, but it’s clear the show’s connection to Rowling continues to shape who is and isn’t willing to be part of it.

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