For over 20 years, the Harry Potter movies have brought J.K. Rowling’s magical world to life, but even the most devoted fans know the movies can’t capture everything the books offered. From missing side characters to simplified plots, the cinematic adaptations left crucial storylines and character development on the cutting room floor. HBO's upcoming Harry Potter remake has the opportunity to do the books justice, as long as they don't make the same mistakes as the movies.
The Harry Potter films were often rushed. Screenwriters cut subplots and condensed arcs in ways that sometimes altered character motivations or erased meaningful moments entirely. From Hermione's advocacy for house-elves to Ron’s struggles with insecurity and the intricacies of the Marauder's Map, these omissions left gaps that the HBO series can now fill. Here’s a look at the key mistakes the movies made and how the remake can finally set things straight.
10 Hermione's Advocacy for House-Elves Through S.P.E.W. Was Completely Ignored in the Movies
Not including Hermione's endeavors to uplift marginalized magical creatures like house-elves was a major misstep by the movies. S.P.E.W., which stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, is integral to Hermione’s character development. At the Quidditch World Cup in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hermione met the house-elf Winky and was shocked at her poor treatment.
Hermione's deep passion for fighting for house-elf rights spurred her to later work for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic. Exploring this key facet of Hermione's ideology in the TV show would show fans that HBO is serious about being more faithful to the Harry Potter books.
9 The Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Movie Trimmed & Omitted Key Storylines From the Book
The World Cup storyline from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was massively cut down in the movie adaptations. Movie fans have no idea who Lugo Bagman is or how integral he was to the book's plot. Bagman was a recurring character, one of the judges of the Triwizard Tournament. As mentioned, Winky the house-elf was also nowhere to be seen in the movie adaptations. How did Voldemort get his small body? This is yet another mystery never addressed in the Harry Potter movies.
The Goblet of Fire book hints that it has something to do with Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry official Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail) brought to Voldemort as a peace offering. The movies just have Voldemort as this small, seemingly helpless creature, and viewers are left to assume he's been that way since separating from Quirrell at the end of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The reality of how Voldemort came to be in this form is likely much more sinister, and the HBO TV adaptation has the chance to clear things up.
8 The Harry Potter Movies Glossed Over the Significance of Priori Incantatem in the Graveyard Duel
The duel between Harry and Voldemort in the graveyard toward the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is iconic. Harry is dirty and bloody, having just survived the third task in the Triwizard Tournament, a sprawling hedge maze with unfathomable hazards. Voldemort is newly risen and draped in clean black robes, on a mission to finish what he started on Halloween night all those years ago. But when Voldemort casts the Killing Curse as Harry simultaneously attempts to disarm him with his trademark Expelliarmus, their wands connect in a shock of light, and imprints from Voldemort's last spells emerge as ghostly apparitions.
This connection is called Priori Incantatem, a phenomenon that happens when two wands share the same magical core source. Harry and Voldemort's wands share cores from the same source, phoenix tail feathers from none other than Fawkes, Dumbledore's familiar. When Harry mentions the wand connection to Dumbledore in the movies, he responds cryptically, merely saying, "Priori Incantatem," and little else. This is understandable when you consider that the later Harry Potter films cut a lot of context and explanations in favor of spending more time on action scenes. The Harry Potter TV show has the chance to spend more time on key details that were omitted from the films.
7 Missing Side Characters Like Peeves and Winky Took Away Depth From the Story
The Harry Potter movies cut so many characters from the books. The Hogwarts poltergeist Peeves added a layer of mischief to the magic school that the ghosts simply can't match. Peeves was a fun challenge for students to evade, and it was fun to see him give the school caretaker Argus Filtch lots of grief. Most satisfying was how Peeves openly opposed Dolores Umbridge during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. If the Harry Potter TV show doesn't include Peeves, they're missing a huge opportunity to enrich the live-action legacy of Harry Potter.
As mentioned, Winky the house-elf was a very important side character whose existence drove and developed Hermione's growth as a young witch devoted to improving the treatment of house-elves and other marginalized creatures. Without Winky, the context for Hermione's passion doesn't have as concrete a foundation as the books provide. The Harry Potter TV show needs to include Winky for Hermione's character arc to make sense.
6 Dumbledore Yelling at Harry For Putting His Name in the Goblet of Fire Was Completely Out of Character
Harry was utterly bewildered when his name came out of the Triwizard Cup as the second Hogwarts Champion in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the movie, Dumbledore yells at Harry, grasping his shoulders while Harry quickly backs away, obviously terrified of the implications of becoming a champion in the deadly Triwizard Tournament.
This movie scene became infamous the moment fans watched it unfold on screen. The books clearly state: “Dumbledore asked calmly”. In no way, shape, or form is Dumbledore’s outburst book-accurate, and many fans take issue with that. This movie scene has become a meme, mocked to this day, 20 years after the movie's release.
5 Harry and Ginny's Romance Was Underdeveloped and Unfaithful to the Books
Many people scoff at Harry and Ginny’s romance in the Harry Potter movies. Their scenes together came off unnatural, like Ginny tying Harry’s shoelaces or feeding him a mince pie at Christmas. In a coming-of-age story where good is supposed to triumph over evil, these moments seem a bit out of place. The fact of the matter is that the Harry Potter movies didn't develop Ginny’s character enough.
In the books, Ginny's fiery, fierce, and fearsome. Her Bat-Bogey Hex is the stuff of legends. She is not relegated to sister or love interest. And that's where the romance between Ginny and Harry falls flat — because Harry gets all the on-screen development, and Ginny seems to just…be there. The Harry Potter TV show needs to pay more attention to developing Ginny's character in order for her relationship with Harry to make any sense.
4 Ron Was Flattened into Comic Relief Instead of Showing Emotional Depth
The Harry Potter fanfic fandom (especially the Dramione shippers) love to hate on Ron Weasley. However, Ron does have many admirable qualities; they're just not on display in the movies. Ron defaults to comic relief. He's portrayed as not being very smart or capable, more of a bumbling sidekick there to support Harry's journey. The Harry Potter movies forget that Ron is much more emotionally well-rounded in the books.
Ron consistently struggles with self-doubt due to being the youngest son in a family full of successful wizards. Becoming the famous Harry Potter's best friend only exacerbated Ron's insecurity. The movies don't do a very good job of explaining just how deep these wounds go for Ron, so when he overcomes his self-doubt, it doesn't feel hard-earned — it feels annoying almost, like why did it take him so long? The Harry Potter TV show needs to give more depth to Ron's character and be more faithful to his book characterization.
3 The Marauder's Map Origins Were Never Fully Explained in the Harry Potter Movies
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Fred and George Weasley give a magical map of Hogwarts to Harry when he's not permitted to go on weekend outings to the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade. The map shows many hidden passages and routes off the Hogwarts grounds and into the village, so Harry is elated. The map is also able to show the viewer the comings and goings of anyone in the castle or on the grounds. The Marauders' Map is integral in uncovering Peter Pettigrew’s 12-year-old secret.
Although the Marauders' names are on the map — Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs — there is never a clear explanation that the Marauders are indeed Harry’s father, James Potter, as Prongs; Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, as Padfoot; Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, as Mooney; and the traitorous rat himself, Peter Pettigrew, as Wormtail. Their Marauder nicknames are uttered in the films, but the connection is left to subtext.
The Marauders were brilliant wizards to have created such a map, to become Animagi (wizards who can assume an animal form at will) at such a young age, and their history and significance to the story are glossed over in the movies. Fans have been clamoring for a Marauder prequel for decades at this point, so the HBO adaptation has the opportunity to serve these fans with more in-depth reveals and context.
2 Dumbledore's Puppetmaster Role Needs to Be More Overt in the HBO Series
Dumbledore played puppetmaster throughout the whole Harry Potter series, but it doesn't come across well enough in the movies. The Harry Potter TV show should spend more time revealing just how much he played everyone like fiddles. He put the fate of the world into the hands of children, without ever having the decency to give them all the information at his disposal.
The Harry Potter books, at least, have a moment where Dumbledore explains himself to Harry when they're at King's Cross together when Harry is temporarily dead after sacrificing himself to Voldemort during the Final Battle. No such conversation or confession exists in the movies. Instead, it's just more cryptic platitudes from a man who never knew how to tell the full truth.
1 Harry and Hermione’s Dance Scene in Deathly Hallows Part 1 Misrepresents Their Relationship
When the Golden Trio is on the Horcrux Hunt in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, morale is low. The trio becomes a duo when Ron reaches a breaking point and abandons Harry and Hermione. Of course, he makes his way back to them and destroys a Horcrux along the way, but in the meantime, Harry and Hermione are alone. One night, close to Christmas, they're sitting in the tent. Hermione is studying The Tales of Beedle the Bard for the umpteenth time, as Harry is watching her. He beckons her into a dance. They sway and twirl and eventually laugh together while "O Children" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds plays in the background. The song ends. Their smiles fade. They go back to being alone, together.
Book fans criticize this scene because it implies a romantic undertone between Harry and Hermione. Their dance scene does not exist in the books, so some say that it feels out of place. The HBO TV show has a chance to rectify the disconnect here — either don't include it this go-round, or go even harder by showing the platonic love and support between Harry and Hermione.
I don't believe there's anything romantic about this scene at all. It's a moment of pure empathy: Harry sees how much pain Hermione is in with Ron gone, on top of everything else she's carrying. She Obliviated her existence from her own parents, and she can't figure out why Dumbledore left her a children's book in his will. Hermione, the Brightest Witch of her Age, can't solve a problem. Harry inviting her to dance is not out of romantic desire. Harry is giving Hermione a fleeting moment of joy during the darkest period of their lives.
- Showrunner
- Francisca Gardiner
- Directors
- Mark Mylod
- Writers
- Francesca Gardiner
- Franchise(s)
- Harry Potter
Cast
-
Dominic McLaughlinHarry Potter -
Janet McTeerMinerva McGonagall -
John LithgowAlbus Dumbledore -
Nick FrostHagrid
