The Harry Potter Remake Officially Breaks One of the Books’ Biggest Rules (& It’s a Good Thing)

The Harry Potter TV show is breaking away from the books in a way the movies rarely did, and it should be a good thing. As with any adaptation, there’s naturally going to be a lot of scrutiny over its fidelity to the source material. The Harry Potter movies made several changes to the novels, and simply left a lot out. The hope with the remake is that they will be much more book accurate, which the expanded runtime certainly allows for, but it can (and should) also mix things up.

There is already some evidence of this, including how it might deviate from one of the biggest parts of the books: Harry’s point-of-view. Although told in third person, so Harry isn’t narrating these stories himself, there is a limited perspective to the novels. We very rarely step outside of his POV, and they’re mostly exceptions that prove the rule: the prologue-style chapters that several books have are the clearest example, while there are other very occasional moments, like in the Quidditch stands in The Philosopher’s Stone, where it’s crucial to depict these events but impossible for Harry’s perspective to know them.

The Harry Potter Remake Breaking The Books’ POV Rule Should Be A Good Change

The remake is already committing to what seems like a lot more scenes outside of Harry’s perspective. Of course, he’ll still undoubtedly be the focus, but it’s broadening things out beyond him. This includes Lord Voldemort in Godric’s Hollow, the wizarding world celebrating the Dark Lord’s demise, Albus Dumbledore meeting with Nicholas Flamel, and visiting the rooms of Hogwarts professors when they’re not teaching and Draco Malfoy at home in Malfoy Manor. On the latter point, actor Lox Pratt explained:

“I think with this adaptation, you get to see so much more than the books. [The books] are very much over Harry’s shoulder, which is great, and that’s how they played the film as well. And I think Francesca [Gardiner] and Mark [Mylod] have been audible about this in their interviews, there’s just so much more that you get to see.”

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This would seemingly suggest that there’s a lot more to come on this front beyond what’s been revealed so far (and even that is going further than the books and movies did with it, especially as this is just the first season). It’s an idea with a lot of potential, as it can give so many characters more depth, and flesh out storylines and the world as a whole by going past Harry’s limited viewpoint, which should make this both rich and fresh as an adaptation. Some of these scenes aren’t crucial to the main plot in the way the existing non-POV moments are, but that’s not a bad thing: it can give the show more variation, multiple story threads, and keep it interesting.

It’s also, perhaps, a choice born out of necessity. The first couple of books are short, and may not even require eight or so hours of television to adapt. Inventing new scenes, and expanding what’s on the page (and what’s between the lines) can help with this, providing it with fresh material that can help it stand apart from the books and movies, while not having to sacrifice anything to remain faithful.

The Harry Potter remake is expected to release on HBO and HBO Max in early 2027.

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