Chris Columbus has criticised HBO's upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

During an appearance on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast on Thursday, the director told co-host Richard Osman that he is somewhat confused about the project, which is based on the fantasy books by J.K. Rowling and is currently being shot in the U.K.

Columbus recalled how he recently saw some paparazzi photos showing Nick Frost in character as Rubeus Hagrid in London, along with his body double.

"So, I'm seeing these photographs... and he's wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid. Part of me was like: 'What's the point?'" he said. "I thought everything was going to be different, but it's more of the same. It's all going to be the same."

Hagrid was portrayed by Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane in the film adaptations of the novels.

Columbus directed 2001's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He served as a producer for the third film, 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

"It's very flattering for me, because I'm like, 'That's exactly the Hagrid costume that we designed.' So, part of it is really exciting, so I'm excited to see what they're going to do with it. Part of it is sort of déjà vu all over again," the 66-year-old continued.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Columbus insisted he isn't "jealous" of the remake.

"I'm so beyond it. I did it. My feeling is, 'I've done it, it's time to move on,'" he declared. "I've always had issues with the idea of franchise... I'm really proud of those films, the first three that I was involved with, and I'm moving on."

However, Columbus admitted that he is interested in seeing whether the character of Peeves is included in the HBO series.

Though the Home Alone filmmaker tapped Rik Mayall and used computer imagery to create a depiction of the poltergeist for the first film in the franchise, Peeves was ultimately cut.

"We filmed the Peeves scenes, but it was a CGI character and we could never get it right," Columbus explained. "We could never design the scene (with) the character to any of our liking, so they were cut from the film. That's the thing I'm probably most excited about in the HBO series, I want to see how they do Peeves. But Rik Mayall's performance was fantastic."

Described as a "faithful" adaptation of the books, the first eight-episode season of the Harry Potter HBO series is scheduled to premiere in early 2027.