Just when you thought the Harry Potter franchise had finally packed away the robes, Rupert Grint has pulled his back out of the closet.
The actor is returning to Ron Weasley, the role he first played at 11, this time on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Grint will take the stage at New York’s Lyric Theatre for a 17-week run beginning February 2, 2027, playing an adult Ron nearly two decades after the original story ended.
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For some LGBTQ+ fans, however, the announcement has landed with considerably less enthusiasm than a surprise acceptance letter from Hogwarts.
Rupert Grint Wants to Meet Ron Again
“Dusting off the old robes. New York – see you all in February,” Grint wrote on Instagram.
And honestly, the man sounds thrilled to be back.
“Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life.
“There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron’s shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new.
“And the joy of being back on Broadway, this time in a role that defined so much of my life is truly exciting.”
It is a sweet sentiment. Ron was not exactly a minor career detour for Grint. He grew up playing the character through all eight films, alongside Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, and the role became inseparable from his childhood.
But therein lies the awkward bit: for LGBTQ+ fans who have watched the Harry Potter conversation become increasingly complicated, nostalgia is no longer as uncomplicated as it was when the trio were running around Hogwarts.
The JK Rowling Problem Hasn’t Exactly Disappeared
The criticism surrounding Grint’s return is largely connected to his previous support for the trans community and his decision, alongside Radcliffe and Watson, to distance himself from JK Rowling’s views on transgender people.
In 2020, Grint told The Times: “I firmly stand with the trans community… Trans women are women. Trans men are men.”
That history is precisely why some LGBTQ+ fans are questioning the decision now. For them, returning to one of the most recognizable roles in a franchise created by Rowling can feel like stepping back into a cultural property they have become increasingly uncomfortable supporting.
Others, meanwhile, have pushed back on the criticism, arguing that Grint is an actor returning to a character he has loved since childhood and should not automatically be treated as responsible for Rowling’s views.
Both things can exist at once: you can understand why an actor would feel emotionally attached to a role that defined his childhood, while also understanding why LGBTQ+ fans might have complicated feelings about the franchise surrounding it.
Ron Weasley Is Getting the Grown-Up Treatment
Cursed Child picks up with Harry, Ron and Hermione as adults, 19 years after the events of the original story. Ron and Hermione are married and sending their daughter to Hogwarts, because apparently the Weasley family tree has not suffered enough teenage drama.
Grint, now 38, will therefore be playing a version of Ron much closer to his own stage of life. The actor is also a father, making his comments about returning to Ron especially personal.
There is something undeniably strange — and slightly hilarious — about watching someone who spent his formative years being Ron Weasley now return to the character as a grown man.
The robes still fit. The fandom, however, has changed considerably.
Tom Felton Already Went Back to Hogwarts
Grint is not the first original film star to return to the stage production. Tom Felton has been reprising Draco Malfoy in Cursed Child, although the two actors will miss each other this time around. Felton’s run is scheduled to end January 3, 2027, while Grint begins February 2 and is currently scheduled through May 30.
Tom Felton bows to the audience at the end of his first performance as Draco Malfoy in HARRY POTTER and the Cursed Child 🐍 pic.twitter.com/qtXfIp4A5v
— Wizarding World Direct (@WW_Direct) November 12, 2025
Grint is also the only member of the original trio currently returning to his film role. So yes, apparently Hogwarts really does have a revolving door.
For LGBTQ+ fans, though, the bigger question isn’t whether Grint can still play Ron. Of course he can. The question is whether audiences who have complicated feelings about Harry Potter can still separate the childhood magic from the very adult cultural baggage that came afterward.
Grint’s return may be full-circle for him. For some fans, it is also a reminder that the Harry Potter saga never seems quite ready to say goodbye.
And frankly, some of us are beginning to wonder if someone should confiscate the Floo powder.
Source: BBC