Steven Spielberg was going to direct "Harry Potter", but decided against it for another film

Director Steven Spielberg revealed to the Turner Classic Movies channel that he gave up directing "Harry Potter" to invest in another project. He was already in the casting phase when he was called to continue "A.I. - Artificial Intelligence", created by another cinema giant, Stanley Kubrick, before his death.

"There was no script and, after his death, I was at the funeral, at his house (...) they approached me to take over Stanley's project and, as he intended, direct the film", he recalled. "And I ended up giving up on Harry Potter, which I was going to direct next," Spielberg revealed.

He explained that he considered that the book itself was already an "overwhelming" cultural phenomenon and that it would be a huge film, which is why he chose to abandon the project. "I had already made suggestions for the cast, including some of the more experienced actors. But I gave up."

Based on the book series by author J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter films followed the growth of a generation and won over fans all over the world. Since the release of the first book in 1997, the story of the young wizard has enchanted readers and it wasn't long before the magic of Harry Potter went beyond the pages to the big screen.

The Harry Potter cinematic saga had a total of four directors throughout its eight films: Chris Columbus, responsible for the first two; Alfonso Cuarón, who directed the third "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"; Mike Newell, who directed the fourth "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"; and David Yates, who directed the rest of the films in the franchise.

Spielberg and Kubrick were close friends and wanted to work together
Kubrick bought the rights to the story that inspired "A.I. - Artificial Intelligence: Super Toys Last All Summer", written by Brian W. Aldiss, in the late 1970s. The project went through different writers and was temporarily shelved while Kubrick worked on other projects. Due to his closeness to Spielberg, the filmmaker decided to take on the project in 1990.

"It meant a lot to him," Aldiss told The New York Times in 1999. "There was something there about the little boy's inability to please his mother that touched Stanley's heart," he said. "Steven loved Stanley, and Steven used to say, 'Why don't you let Stanley and I set up a time to talk this weekend?' Because they never had a short conversation."

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Source: CNN