The Reason Chris Columbus Stopped Directing the Harry Potter Movies Makes Sense
HBO Max's Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts special, which premiered on New Year's Day 2022, was a very emotional viewing experience for Potterheads. It instantly transported us back to our childhoods, when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone first premiered in November 2001. But all the reminiscing has us wondering why things changed so much between the first and eighth movies. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and the other kids' amazing adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were undoubtedly shaped by the franchise's amazing first director, Chris Columbus, who helmed the first two installments (Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets) before stepping away from the series, but why did he leave?