What Happened to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban?

Last Updated on September 27, 2023

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a transitional film for the franchise. The young cast, including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, were getting older, and the kid’s movie style of the first two movies would have to be abandoned to reflect an aging cast and fanbase. It helped that J.K Rowling’s book, which introduced fan favorite Sirius Black (to be played by Gary Oldman), was notably darker than the previous volumes.

To that end, Chris Columbus stepped aside as director, and Warner Bros brought in Alfonso Cuarón. While he’s nearly a household name now, at the time, Cuaron was only known for the well-regarded family film A Little Princess and Y tu mamá también. In the end, he proved to be an inspired choice, with many lauding the film as one of the franchise’s best instalments and a high watermark for the movies to follow.

In this episode of What Happened to this Movie, we dig into how Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban came together hot on the heels of its two wildly successful predecessors and the challenges faced. This included the death of the beloved Richard Harris, who would have to be replaced by Michael Gambon as Dumbledore (after Ian McKellen turned it down). How do you think Prisoner of Azkaban ranks in the series as a whole? Let us know in the comments!