5 Characters Missing From The Harry Potter Movies The Reboot Can Finally Include

One of the biggest advantages the HBO Max reboot has over the original Harry Potter films is time. With each book expanded into a full season of TV, the show can finally restore the forgotten side characters to their former glory. While understandable, cutting out these characters can alter the unique alchemy, atmosphere, and relationship dynamics of the story. While they may not always be integral to the plot, the nuance they bring is sorely missed. 

Given that the new show is being marketed as a more faithful adaptation of the Wizarding World, audiences are eagerly awaiting the on-screen debuts of a few fan-favorite characters. These are five of the most anticipated, and along with these characters will hopefully come the fully fleshed-out subplots and more complex themes the movies didn’t have time to explore.

5) Winky

Winky appears in The Goblet of Fire novel as the anxious house-elf of Barty Crouch Sr., who is ultimately revealed to be hiding her master’s secrets. She’s present at the Quidditch World Cup, hidden in the Top Box, and later dismissed after being found with the wand used to cast the Dark Mark. From there, she’s fired and spirals into a drunken stupor while working in the Hogwarts kitchens. Her arc is tragic, and it intertwines with Barty Crouch Jr.’s escape, the mystery of the Triwizard Tournament, and Hermione’s emerging S.P.E.W. campaign. Without Winky, the emotional complexity of the house-elf storyline disappears, but the GoF movie leaves out the house elves altogether. The Crouch family’s plot also becomes thinner. Hopefully, the reboot will bring justice for Winky. 

4) Pigwidgeon

Pigwidgeon, or “Pig” for short, is Ron’s tiny, hyperactive owl gifted to him by Sirius Black at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban. He’s small and constantly zooming around everywhere. Pig becomes the Weasley family’s newest mail-delivery disaster, causing scenes at breakfast and ignoring Ron’s attempts to train him. He appears across multiple books, including Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. Pig’s absence from the films may seem small, but it strips away a ton of great Ron moments and some much-needed comedic relief in the darker OotP story. Pig helps the darker installment retain some of the whimsy of the first several stories. In the reboot, Pig could restore some of the cute, cozy warmth and worldbuilding the movies didn’t have time to include.

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3) Peeves

The most infamous, and perhaps first-ever character to be cut from Harry Potter, Peeves the Poltergeist, haunts Hogwarts from the very first book. His allegiance swings with whoever offers the most entertainment, which makes him both annoying and occasionally helpful, like during the events of Order of the Phoenix. His greatest moment, of course, is his glorious rebellion against Dolores Umbridge, where he salutes Fred and George Weasley and spends the rest of the year making her life a living nightmare. Omitting Peeves eliminated a component of Hogwarts’ personality. Peeves is the castle’s own mischievous spirit, resistant to authoritarian control. Thankfully, Peeves’ appearance in the reboot has been confirmed, so his war against Umbridge will be a fantastic payoff, especially given how far VFX has come since 2001.

2) Professor Binns

Professor Cuthbert Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, drifts into his History of Magic classroom through the blackboard and mostly just mumbles in a monotone while Harry and Ron nod off. Legend says he died in the staffroom, got up, and went to class without realizing he was dead. Despite the droning, he’s key to several plot points–most notably the students’ first real explanation of the Chamber of Secrets, where he reluctantly recites the legend after Hermione presses him. Additionally, he makes going to school at Hogwarts seem a little more real, as being bored to tears in class is something most can relate to. Thus, bringing Binns into the reboot would allow for an explanation of the Chamber’s origins that’s more faithful to the books and add to the day-in-the-life factor for the students at Hogwarts. 

1) Ludo Bagman

Ludo Bagman, the boisterous and somewhat shady Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, is a prominent personality woven throughout the Goblet of Fire novel. He’s a former Wimbourne Wasps Beater, and he’s constantly showing favoritism toward Harry during the Triwizard Tournament. However, he’s ultimately revealed to be making bets behind the scenes. His hilarious disappearance at the end of the novel involves fleeing from goblin bookies. Without Bagman, Goblet of Fire loses its sports-politics subplot. It also loses Bagman as comic relief, as a suspect in the case of who-put-Harry’s-name-in-the-Goblet, and as a cautionary tale about corruption and incompetence at the Ministry (something that becomes essential in Order of the Phoenix). Keeping him in the reboot will reintroduce the complex ecosystem of Wizarding bureaucracy, strengthen the political tensions already brewing in Book 4, and help develop the nuances of the darker, more complex stories to come.  

Which Harry Potter book character do you miss the most? What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!