It turns out the reason Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling didn't do any new interviews for HBO Max's Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special is that she simply didn't want to.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Rowling's absence from the HBO Max special, which reunites the stars and filmmakers from the eight Harry Potter movies, was a decision made by her team that had nothing to do with the controversies surrounding her stance on transgender issues. The report indicates that an invitation for her to appear was extended, but her team determined that the archival footage from 2019 was satisfactory for the sake of Return to Hogwarts.

RELATED: Lynda Carter Counters JK Rowling's Recent Transphobic Comments

When it was previously reported that Rowling would only appear in the special via archival footage, the reason for her absence was not provided. This led to speculation from fans that her absence was a reaction to the controversy surrounding the author's many transphobic statements, for which she has received backlash from fans and stars of the Harry Potter franchise alike. However, it has now been confirmed that this is not the case.

Alongside the main trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, other Harry Potter actors set to appear in Return to Hogwarts include Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton, Mark Williams, Evanna Lynch, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, Ian Hart, James Phelps and Oliver Phelps. Radcliffe, Watson, Grint, Lynch and Wright have all publicly disagreed with Rowling's views on transgender people, while Coltrane and Fiennes have defended Rowling.

Based on the novels written by Rowling, the Harry Potter film franchise kicked off in 2001 with The Sorcerer's Stone and was followed by The Chamber of Secrets in 2002, The Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004, The Goblet of Fire in 2005, The Order of the Phoenix in 2007, The Half-Blood Prince in 2009, The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 in 2010 and The Deathly Hallows - Parth 2 in 2011. Following the mainline series, the franchise branched out into spinoff territory with the prequel film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in 2016. That was followed by The Crimes of Grindelwald in 2018, and in addition to the upcoming Secrets of Dumbledore, there are expected to be two more Fantastic Beasts films.

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres on HBO Max Jan. 1, 2022. The next film in the Wizarding World, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, is co-written by Rowling and arrives in theaters April 15, 2022.

KEEP READING: Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts Poster Reunites the Iconic Cast

Source: Entertainment Weekly