HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV show is taking a different approach from the movies and even the books. Initially, it seemed as though the remake was hewing closely to the big screen adaptations, with similar iconography and costume design. However, as more is revealed about the show, various discrepancies and changes are emerging. That includes characters cut from the films, like Peeves the Poltergeist, Professor Binns, and Ronan, and even some who aren’t even in the book, such as Nicolas Flamel and his wife, Perenelle.
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This also extends to locations, with set photos [via Wizarding World Direct on X] revealing that Harry’s home of Godric’s Hollow will be featured in the remake in some capacity. The images, taken in the English village of Lustleigh, include Godric’s Hollow Post Office, The Lion’s Heart pub, and St Jerome’s Church, with set decorations also confirming that this is taking place on or around Halloween.
Although it’s a crucial location in Wizarding World lore, Godric’s Hollow doesn’t fully appear in the Harry Potter movies or books until The Deathly Hallows, when Harry and Hermione go there as they hunt for Horcruxes, though Harry does have fragmented flashbacks of his mother’s death before then.
What Godric’s Hollow Means For Harry Potter’s TV Show (& Lord Voldemort)
There are a couple of possible explanations as to why Godric’s Hollow is being visited in Harry Potter Season 1, and both line up with the Halloween timeline implied by the set photos, since the attack on the Potters took place on October 31st, 1981.
A very simple one is that we’re seeing the collection of baby Harry by Hagrid, in the aftermath of the attack by Lord Voldemort (and his subsequent demise). This would lead naturally into the scene where Hagrid drops Harry off with Albus Dumbledore at Privet Drive, who then delivers him to the Dursleys. It could even mean an early appearance from Sirius Black, who gives Hagrid his flying motorcycle to transport Harry with.
Perhaps more likely, though, is that we’re going to see bigger flashbacks to the night Lord Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter, and failed to murder Harry. I’ve personally long felt this would make for a good opening scene for the TV show: it does something different to the books and movies, it establishes Voldemort early on, and you get a fascinating juxtaposition with the darkness of this scene going into the wizarding world celebrating the Dark Lord’s downfall (amid some confused and irritated Muggles, like Vernon).
For a while now, there have been rumors that HBO is already casting Voldemort for Harry Potter’s remake. In the movies, Ralph Fiennes didn’t take on the role until The Goblet of Fire, so this would be a marked departure. That itself could simply be having an actor for Voldemort who appears on the back of Quirrell’s head, but that doesn’t really necessitate proper casting. So if he is being – or secretly already has been – cast, Godric’s Hollow scenes would make a lot of sense.
Harry Potter’s remake is currently in production, and is expected to be released on HBO and HBO Max sometime in 2027.
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Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films -
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm.
