Weekly Round-Up: Warner Bros. Announce Theatrical Release Changes, Daniel Radcliffe Supports Actors, & More!

Apr 26, 2020

Posted by: Becki Osborne

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Even with films postponed, events cancelled and venues closed, this week was as busy as ever in the Wizarding World. Leaky interviewed the director of Tom Felton’s upcoming film Braking for Whales, we shared reopening news from Universal, an anniversary celebration for Hogwarts Mystery, and a new snake named for the Slytherin Founder. The Italian Harry Potter cover artist explains her Philosopher’s Stone concept, James and Oliver Phelps bring their Double Trouble podcast back to YouTube and Potter fans share their magical remedies for the Muggle world during the pandemic in our latest giveaway.

In this week’s Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts Actors Round-Up Warner Bros announces release date changes for Batman and the Flash but no change for Fantastic Beasts 3, Daniel Radcliffe supports his Endgame and Miracle Workers co-stars in a new campaign and interview, Fiona Shaw interviews with Vogue, Chris Columbus’s Scoob with Jason Isaacs goes straight to VOD, David Bradley, Imelda Staunton and Julie Walters celebrate National Tea Day for a cause, Netflix grabs upcoming YA adaptation Enola Holmes with Helena Bonham Carter, Fiona Shaw and France de la Tour, and releases After Life Season 2 (starring David Bradley), and more!

Film Release Changes for Wizarding World Actors

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Warner Bros. are making strategic changes to its scheduled movie releases due to the current global pandemic.

With cinemas closed and film production suspended, the studio has moved a number of its release dates, including ‘The Batman’ and ‘The Flash’.
‘The Batman’ staring Hogwarts’ Tri-Wizard champion, Robert Pattinson as the title character has been pushed back to 1st October, from 25th June 2021.

‘The Flash’ starring Fantastic Beasts’ Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, will now arrive on 2nd June  2022, instead of 1st July 2022. ‘The Flash’ was originally set for a 2018 release date but has failed to hit this date due to constant changes. Numerous directors have left left the project at various times, including Seth Grahame-Smith and Rick Famuyiwa.

Daniel Radcliffe Supports Co-Stars

Miracle Workers: Dark Ages Ep 2 Left to Right: Daniel Radcliffe, Karan Soni

Actor, singer, humanitarian and all round and tour de force Alan Cumming, who recently starred alongside Daniel Radcliffe in ‘Endgame’ on London’s West End is raising money for the Club Cumming family, who have been hit during the current Covid crisis.

Club Cumming is a bar in New York’s East Village inspired by Cummings’ reprise as Cabaret’s M.C. in 2014. During the Broadway run, it is reported that he kept the party going offstage, hosting impromptu gatherings in his dressing room, naming them “Club Cumming”.

To help support the talent, actors and staff who have been affected by the closure of theatres and clubs, Cummings is pulling in help from his expansive contacts list, auctioning personalised items and one-on-one experiences with famous faces!

The auction includes a Coffee or Cocktail With Jane Lynch, Amy Sedaris’ Panties movie memorabilia from ‘Strangers with Candy’ and any Potter fan’s dream, A Daniel Radcliffe Signed “Harry Potter: Page to Screen” Book! Which, at the time of writing bidding stands at US $1,125.00!

A bewitching list of items for auction for a very worthwhile cause!

Radcliffe also interviewed with Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers costar), and spoke about the fact that the West End play he was in at The Old Vic, Endgame, had to end its run early due to COVID-19:

“I was doing a play, which had to close early. The play that was supposed to come in right after us was with Eileen Atkins and Timothée Chalamet, and they had to postpone that one indefinitely. I’m very glad we got to do our play for eight weeks. Did anything get held up for you?”

He also spoke about Hugh Jackman (and his mum’s obsession with him!):

“He used to walk his dog around here, and I’m pretty sure that whatever my mom’s dogwalking route had been, she would be like, “Oh, I see Hugh’s going there. I’m just going to walk my dog near him today.” When I met him, I casually apologized for that. And I’ve never met Allison Janney, but there’s not a film she’s in that I don’t enjoy. We’ve been lucky enough to work with Steve Buscemi on Miracle Workers, and I feel like he fits into that similar category of somebody with a ridiculous career behind them who could not be a nicer human being.”

Read the full interview here.

Fiona Shaw’s Vogue Interview: Killing Eve Season 3

Speaking on her quarantine experience and her fantastic portrayal of Killing Eve character, Carolyn Martens, Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) told Vogue this week that playing Carolyn “has always had an element of distance and control, and elegance of mind”:

“She’s sort of like a samurai, she can fight off all comers with that. Grief is an axe to your sternum, and someone more integrated than Carolyn could just yield to it, but Carolyn isn’t built like that, so it’s been challenging to be true to her as well as the level of grief she’s currently suffering. We all feel grief, and nobody benefits from it, but it’s profoundly part of what it is to be human.”

Read the full interview here.

Scoob! with Jason Isaacs Skips Theaters

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Plans for a new Scooby-Doo film began in June 2014, when Warner Bros. announced that they would reboot the Scooby-Doo franchise with an animated film.
Jason Isaacs will voice the mustache twisting villain, Dick Dastardly, famous from cartoon such as Wacky Races, who is reported to be the main baddie in Scoob!
Scoob! is set to be released to video on demand on May 15, 2020. It was initially due for theatre release in the United States on the same date, but this was cancelled in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Harry Potter Alum Attempt Record for Charity

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To celebrate National Tea Day, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association hosted a virtual tea party on April 21!

As face-to-face gatherings have been cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the internet has allowed social events to continue to take place online, and some Harry Potter stars joined in for a virtual tea party for charity yesterday!

Through Facebook, the charity aimed to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s biggest virtual tea party.

The virtual event hosted numerous Wizarding World participants, including Dame Julie Walters (Molly Weasley), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), David Bradley (Argus Filch), and Sophie Thompson (Mafalda Hopkirk).

Netflix Acquires YA Adaptation with 3 Wizarding World Witches

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On April 21st, Netflix announced that they had acquired the rights to upcoming Legendary Pictures film Enola Holmes. The movie is based on the popular young adult detective novels of the same name by Nancy Springer. Millie Bobby Brown will play the titular role of Enola Holmes, the younger sister of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes.

While there is no official release date yet, we do know that three famous Wizarding World witches are involved. Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) will star as the matriarch of the family, Mrs. Eudoria Holmes.

Fiona Shaw, the perfectly-normal-thank-you-very-much Aunt of Harry Potter, and Frances de la Tour, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy, will  also star in yet-to-be-announced roles.

Netflix Releases After Life Season 2

David Bradley (Filch) stars in the latest season of Ricky Gervais’s After Life, released this week on Netflix.

The season is summarised as follows:

“Still struggling with immense grief after the death of his wife, Tony (Ricky Gervais) is trying to turn over a new leaf. Will he succeed in helping the people around him, or will he go back to being the same old Tony?”

Watch the trailer below:

Gary Oldman to Host Online Writers Showcase

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Gary Oldman (Sirius Black) is set to be a part of a virtual gala ‘Here Not There’, created by children’s literacy charity Grimm & Co, showcasing the incredible work produced by young people who have taken part in the charity’s free writing workshops.

The digital showcase of writing will premiere online on Saturday 2nd May 2020 at 14:00 GMT, and will star other famous faces, including Olivia Coleman (Broadchurch), Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula), David Mitchell (Peep Show) and Indira Varma (Game of Thrones).

As well as showcasing stories, poems and songs, created by young people from across Yorkshire, the charity will give an insight into future plans  for their expansion into a magical new centre in the heart of Rotherham.

You can watch the showcase on Grimm & Co’s YouTube channel and at www.grimmandco.co.uk/watch

Jim Broadbent Makes Pandemic Appeal for Age UK

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Age UK have launched a new appeal, starring Jim Broadbent, Harry Potter’s Potions Master – Professor Slughorn, to support the Charity’s £10m Coronavirus Emergency Appeal.

Donations will ensure that the advice and information telephone line can continue to operate and support older people who maybe feeling lonely during the current lockdown, also helping fund emergency food supplies for the older generations.

Demand for Age UK’s services has soared during the pandemic, with calls to their Advice Line experiencing a peak of 88% higher than before the crisis. Friendship services are seeing a huge increase in the number of older people who need urgent support and comfort.

To donate £10, please text HELPNO to 70577.

Dawn French Reprises Role for BBC’s Big Night In

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She won hearts with her role as Geraldine Granger in the Vicar Of Dibley and singing sensation and Gryfindor Common Room Protector The Fat Lady in Harry Potter.

Dawn French reprised the beloved vicar for a good cause on Thursday 27th April, as she appeared as Geraldine during the BBC’s Big Night In, raising money for Comic Relief and Children In Need.

French was back with her classic humour as she joked about Easter eggs, holding parish meeting over Zoom and her lockdown exercise regime. On a more serious note, she added: ‘This will pass. We Shouldn’t dwell too much over the sadness. This will pass.’

Geraldine tells the viewers she tries to remember the happy times, showing us clips of herself dancing with Darcey Bussell and eating four Christmas lunches, concluding the video with ‘Praise the lord, and praise the NHS. God bless you for watching.’  

Barkskins Starring David Thewlis Sets Memorial Day Premiere

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The eight-episode Barkskins,  based on the bestselling novel by Annie Proulx, will air with back-to-back episodes for four weeks. The historical fiction series will debut on National Geographic on Memorial Day, 25th May 2020.

With an ensemble cast led by David Thewlis (Werewolf and Professor Remus Lupin) and Marcia Gay Harden (Into The Wild, How To Get Away With Murder), the series examines the mysterious massacre of settlers in the wilds of 1690s.

“I’d like to say the tidepool of humanity has progressed but it has not,” creator Elwood Reid explains, “Our drive to prosper at the expense of others is internal and hard-wired and just as true in 1670’s New France as it is today.  All empires are built on the blood of dreamers. Barkskins is about how that blood gets spilled.”

The perfect quarantine watch for fans of Alejandro González’s 2015 epic The Revenant. 

That’s all the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts news for this week. Stay safe and join us back here next time. Pandemic or not, this group of Wizards always stays busy! In the meantime check out the Wizarding World news from the stage in our latest Theater Round-Up.





The Leaky Cauldron is not associated with J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any of the individuals or companies associated with producing and publishing Harry Potter books and films.