The Harry Potter TV show is making several changes to the movies, and even some to the books. HBO’s remake has to strike a delicate balance when it comes to its adaptation. It needs to show a clear fidelity to the source material, especially in terms of including characters and storylines the films omitted, which will help it stand apart. At the same time, it’s largely targeting an audience who love the Harry Potter movies, and will want to capture that sense of nostalgia and some of their magic too.
On top of all that, the Potter series should be looking to do its own thing. It has to adapt the books without just feeling like a retread of the exact same story, and ensure it looks and feels different enough to the movies too, To that end, with the show currently in production, set photos, castings, and comments from those involved have already confirmed quite a few alterations, in particularly to the big screen versions, and some are more exciting than others.
6) Lucius Malfoy & Cornelius Fudge Appearing Earlier
Among the already expansive cast for Harry Potter’s remake are Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy and Bernie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. They’re both good picks for the respective roles, but what’s most notable is that they were already announced, despite neither character appearing in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone.
We can expect them both to appear in Season 1, likely in just a couple of small scenes (perhaps establishing Lucius’ influence, and maybe Fudge’s relationship with Albus Dumbledore). There’s nothing really wrong with it, it sounds fine, but also pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. It is a good sign of invention, just not quite as noteworthy a departure.
5) Adult Actors Being Younger Than Their Movie Counterparts
The Harry Potter movies’ cast was pretty much perfect across the board, with just one point of discrepancy if comparing to the books: the ages of some of the actors and characters. This was mostly to do with James and Lily Potter, and those who had attended school with them: Harry’s parents were murdered at just 21-years-old, but the actors playing them, Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somervile, were in their early 40s and 30s, respectively, when the films started. Alan Rickman was 55 when the first movie released, when Snape should’ve been in his early 30s, and the Marauders actors were all well into their 40s.
It remains to be seen just how far the remake goes with this, but the casting of Snape suggests the others will all follow suit. Paapa Essiedu is taking on the role, and he’s currently 35-years-old, much closer to the character’s book age. There is some importance to this, because the youth of the characters – in particular Lily and James – makes the first Order of the Phoenix’s battles and their deaths so much more tragic.
At the same time, it’s hard to say this in and of itself is too exciting because, again, the movies cast was so good that the ages didn’t matter. What’s crucial is getting the right actors for the part. Essiedu is a fantastic talent, and everyone else cast so far too is as well, but only seeing the performance will determine whether they match the originals.
4) Vernon Dursley’s Day At Work & Wizarding World Celebrations
Vernon and Petunia Dursley are characters who’ll also be around a decade younger than their portrayal in the movies, but what’s more exciting are some of the details that are being included. Harry Potter set photos revealed Vernon’s day at work from the beginning of The Philosopher’s Stone, where he bumps into a wizard wearing a purple suit, while there are more open celebrations from the wizarding world going on after Lord Voldemort’s demise.
This is a fun scene from the books, and it’s a rare occasion we get to see the wizards and Muggles’ usually separate worlds colliding (quite literally). It doesn’t mean too much in terms of the bigger picture, but it does highlight that the TV show is making good use of its extended runtime to ensure no storylines need to be missed out, and that it’s paying attention to some of the smaller moments and details (this can also be evidenced by things like Aunt Petunia now being blonde), which makes this more encouraging.
3) Dumbledore Meeting With Nicolas Flamel
Another reveal from Harry Potter’s set photos shows Dumbledore (John Lithgow) meeting with Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle, on a beach somewhere. We don’t yet know the context of the scene, but it’s already noteworthy, because it doesn’t happen in the movie, nor the book. It’s very plausible this is the Hogwarts Headmaster getting the philosopher’s stone from Flamel and promising to keep it safe, especially since the show seems to be filming the first couple of episodes right now, though an alternate option would be from the end of the show, with Dumbledore discussing the need for it be destroyed.
Either way, that’s a pretty exciting addition. Not so much in terms of that scene itself, which sounds solid enough but nothing to get too hyped over in isolation, but more in terms of what it means. The show is seemingly going to be prepared to deviate away from Harry’s point-of-view more, which could be great for better developing the world and the supporting characters. And more so, it’s allowing some invention. It’s taking things that are mentioned or suggested in-text, and building entire scenes around them. This can help make the story feel fresh, and deliver something that is truly new and unique.
2) Lord Voldemort’s Attack On The Potters Being Shown In Full
Harry Potter Season 1 is paying a visit to Godric’s Hollow, a key location that’s not fully realized on screen until The Deathly Hallows. And it’s doing so for a good reason: to show the night Lord Voldemort kills James and Lily Potter, before being brought down by a baby. Set photos have shown that the remake is filming scenes set on Halloween, the night that incident takes place, which fits with rumors of Voldemort being cast and featuring more than he does in the first movie or book thanks to these extended flashbacks.
It’s quite possible this could even be the opening scene of the series, and that would be a dark, thrilling way to begin the remake that perfectly establishes the story to come, while doing something different from the film and novel. We’ve seen variations on the scene before, but seeing the full attack, and more of that night in Godric’s Hollow, could be really great and among the most memorable sequences of Season 1, and pair brilliantly with being followed by Vernon’s day at work.
Plus, again, it’s another example of the show being unafraid to expand upon what’s on the page and put its own stamp on things. The more it can do that, in ways that are logical like this, the better it’ll be because it won’t just feel as much like it’s sticking to what the films already did. And if it can pull off making James and Lily’s deaths more tragic (especially if it does cast younger actors), and better set up the threat of Voldemort and his connection to Harry, then that’s even better.
1) Peeves, Charlie Weasley & More Missing Characters Being Included
The Harry Potter movies cut several characters as it trimmed down the stories to fit the big screen, and while some were more egregious than others, that shouldn’t be much of a problem for the rebooted version. The TV show has a lot more time to play with, especially in the earlier episodes where the books are shorter, and that means it can include several great characters who didn’t make it into the movies. While not all cast, and some of these won’t be in Season 1, that list already includes:
Peeves the Poltergeist
Professor Binns (played by Richard Durden)
Ronan the Centaur (reportedly Jake Curran)
Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel (Lambert Wilson and Marthe Keller)
On an individual level, some of those are more exciting than others. Peeves, for example, was always a very disappointing cut from the movies, and he adds a lot of humor and a (ironically) a real sense of Hogwarts being a living place that existed before Harry and will continue after him. Charlie, though he may not turn up until Season 4, is one of the book’s coolest minor characters. And Binns’ lessons may be dull to the students, but this should ensure we get far more of Harry’s life studying at Hogwarts, with the lessons drastically cut down in the movies, especially later on.
It’ll be great to see some of these, but also they just mean that the TV show really is sticking to its edict of being far more book accurate than the movies were, while still having room for invention as well.
Harry Potter’s remake is expected to release on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2027.
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