Harry Potter’s Remake Will Officially Include the Coolest Character Cut From the Movies

Harry Potter’s TV remake will be able to do a lot of things the movies didn’t. That is, after all, surely the point of HBO’s new version: the Harry Potter movies were hugely successful and are still beloved, but they weren’t perfect adaptations. Whether due to time/budget constraints or creative choices, a lot of storylines and characters were left behind when taking the books to the big screen. The TV series shouldn’t have those same issues, and so no stone – Philosopher’s, Resurrection, or other – should be left unturned in its quest for fidelity to the source material.

Only time will tell if it can deliver on that front and, hopefully, make something that’s genuinely different from the movies. Still, as things begin to take shape, there are signs of some changes. This includes the recent casting of the Weasley kids for the Harry Potter series, with Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny all revealed, joining the previous announcements of Ron and Molly (Arthur doesn’t enter the story until The Chamber of Secrets). What was most interesting in the news from HBO Max, though, is that it subtly confirmed another character is coming, with the official Instagram post reading: “Charlie’s in Romania at the moment but will be joining us soon enough…”

Charlie Weasley Is One Of Harry Potter’s Most Underrated Characters

This would seemingly mean that, yes, Charlie Weasley will be in the Harry Potter TV show. The character was mentioned in the movies and, technically, made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in a photograph in The Prisoner of Azkaban (played by Alex Crockford). But his actual book appearances and storylines were cut, and that’s a real shame, because Charlie is one of the coolest characters in the entire series. He trains dragons for a living, his “muscly” arms with burns and scars on them; he fights against Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup, and again at the Battle of Hogwarts. He was Quidditch Captain and is still revered by Gryffindors who remember him.

A man of multitudes, he also knits (fireproof balaclavas!), and was a prefect at Hogwarts, but without being stuffy like his younger brother Percy. He’s got the same sense of humor, kindness, and bravery as the rest of his family, and doesn’t hesitate to help out Ron, Harry, and Hagrid with Norbert in The Philosopher’s Stone, showing he is absolutely the cool older brother type. His distance from the story makes him the Weasley we know the least, even in the books, but that just gives him some added mystique.

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Charlie being a cool, if underused, character means that alone makes his inclusion in the remake great, but it also speaks to the book accuracy it should be striving for. This would suggest that the dragon plot line in The Philosopher’s Stone, with Charlie arranging for his friends to get Norbert and Harry having to smuggle the baby dragon to the astronomy tower (an early example of his rule-breaking recklessness, but also how he’ll do anything to help his friends) will be included, even if he himself doesn’t appear.

Including Charlie Weasley Has A Greater Importance For Harry Potter’s Remake

Charlie’s inclusion hopefully means an expanded Quidditch World Cup sequence when it adapts The Goblet of Fire. That should also mean things like Ludo Bagman’s bet with Fred and George, the presence of the house elf Winky, and most of the supporters’ village scenes (welcome back, Oliver Wood) are included. The World Cup could make up an entire episode on its own, and add even more depth to characters like Charlie to boot (there’s certainly room for some invention, giving him more dialogue than what’s on the page). The same goes for The Philosopher’s Stone – from Vernon Dursley’s day at work to Peeves the Poltergeist – and all the other books.

That balance will be key to the Harry Potter TV show working: it needs to be different from the movies, rather than just trading on nostalgia and repeating what came before. It needs book accuracy in terms of including the stories and characters the movies left out, but should also be unafraid to make additions and flesh out characters further. Whether it’ll successfully do all of this is another matter, since it does seem rather driven by movie nostalgia and relying a lot on that familiar iconography and style so far. But, maybe, including characters like Charlie Weasley can help it get there.

Harry Potter Season 1 is currently in production and is expected to release on HBO and HBO Max in 2027.