The beloved Harry Potter franchise saw popular Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron come onboard for the third installment titled Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. The movie has always divided the audience and it is also a clear departure from tone of the Harry Potter films. In an interesting revelation, Cuaron's contemporary Guillermo del Toro shared how he convinced the former to direct a movie in the fantasy franchise.

Cuaron was unsure of directing Harry Potter movie

Cuaron, known for films such as Gravity and Roma, said he was confused to receive the offer to direct the third installment of the franchise, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" and he told del Toro about it, who ended up calling his compatriot an "arrogant a******" for his lack of interest in the movie based on JK Rowling's book series. He was approached to make the the third Harry Potter film after the success of Y tu mama tambien.  

"I was confused because it was completely not on my radar,” Cuaron told Total Film. "I speak often with Guillermo (del Toro), and a couple of days after, I said, ‘You know, they offered me this 'Harry Potter' film, but it's really weird they offer me this'. He said, 'Wait, wait, wait, you said you haven't read 'Harry Potter'?' I said, 'I don't think it's for me'. In very florid lexicon, in Spanish, he said, 'You are an arrogant a******'".

Harry Potter producer on Cuaron coming on-board Harry Potter 3

Harry Potter film producer David Heyman told Total Film that Y tu mama tambien actually was the reason why Alfonso Cuaron was offered to direct the Warner Bros film. Y tu mama tambien, a coming-of-age story about two teenage boys who go on a road trip with a woman in her late twenties, has explicit depiction of nudity and drug use, while  Harry Potter films fall into the PG rating category.

Heyman said, "I'd seen 'Y tu mama tambien', which I loved, and I oddly thought he'd be the perfect director for the third Potter. That's not what some might think. Can you imagine what some thought Harry, Ron and Hermione would get up to, having seen 'Y tu mama tambien'?”

(With PTI inputs)