The main idea behind HBO Max’s upcoming Harry Potter TV show is that the series can be a more faithful adaptation of the original novels than the movies. It remains to be seen how successful the project is in that regard from a storytelling perspective, but it’s clear the creative team is remaining true to the source material when it comes to the visuals. Harry Potter iconography is very distinct, and the showrunners have done their part to capture the signature aesthetic in the remake. While elements like the Hogwarts Express and the costumes closely resemble what was seen in the movies, they still accurately bring the Wizarding World to life. That continues to hold true with our first look at John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore.
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On X, the account Wizarding World Direct posted set photos of Lithgow in character, seemingly filming scenes on a beach. The actor is sporting Dumbledore’s trademark long white beard and an outfit that’s fitting for the Hogwarts headmaster. Check out the images in the space below:
Why Is Dumbledore on the Beach in Harry Potter Set Photos?
Harry Potter Season 1 is currently in production. Since the plan calls for each season to adapt one of the novels, the focus would seemingly be on scenes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for now. That’s what makes these set photos so interesting. Depicting Dumbledore on a beach (possibly casting a spell for unknown purposes) is a deviation from the Sorcerer’s Stone book, so the images raise questions about the context of the scene being filmed. In a passage from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry imagines Dumbledore taking a nice summer vacation to the beach, but the old wizard doesn’t appear to be on holiday here.
The sequence of Dumbledore on the beach could be an original creation for the TV series. On-screen adaptations make changes to their source material all the time; nobody should expect the Harry Potter show to be exact one-to-one translations of the original texts. The first season will consist of eight episodes, which means there could be a lot of time to fill depending on episode length. Sorcerer’s Stone is the shortest of all the Harry Potter books, so even with the inclusion of parts cut from the movie (like Vernon Dursley’s encounter with a wizard on the street), the showrunners may have to add parts to the story to flesh out the season.
The images may make fans recall the cave from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that Dumbledore and Harry visit to retrieve one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. It’s obviously much too soon to shoot that sequence, but perhaps the show’s first season will lay the foundation for that thread. The showrunners might have conceived a subplot where Dumbledore investigates Voldemort’s history to discover what he can about the dark wizard’s reappearance. Tom Riddle visited the cave in his youth, so Dumbledore could travel there in an attempt to gain valuable intel as he prepares to guide Harry on his journey.
Much of the conversation surrounding HBO’s Harry Potter so far has revolved around pointing out the similarities to the movies. Even Harry Potter film director Chris Columbus has been critical of some of the creative choices. What we see in these photos is an example of the show looking to carve out its own identity by showing something that isn’t in the book. Hopefully the scene makes for a worthwhile addition and deepens Harry Potter lore.
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Image Courtesy of Shueisha
