Another change to the Harry Potter movies has been revealed for the TV show, and it’s an exciting one. HBO’s remake already lives in the shadow of the films, which ended only 14 years ago and earned billions of dollars at the box office (plus merchandise, theme parks, tourism, and so on), and has to move beyond them. So far, it’s been a mixed bag on that front: some of the costume designs and iconography have suggested it won’t stray too far, but other changes are restoring things that were cut from the big-screen adaptations, such as Peeves and Professor Binns.
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The latest reveal about the Harry Potter TV series is very much in the latter camp, with a key scene the movies chose not to include: the opening of The Philosopher’s Stone. Set photos and videos shared by u/MistyMaz on Reddit revealed the TV show’s new Vernon Dursley (Daniel Rigby) encountering a small wizard in a violet cloak, bumping into the man, and then having an exchange that leaves Vernon looking rather uncomfortable. Alongside this, there are other scenes of the wizarding world openly celebrating Lord Voldemort’s demise among the Muggles. These are, of course, lifted directly from the pages of the book:
“‘Sorry,’ he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr Dursley realised that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn’t seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passers-by stare: ‘Don’t be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!’”
Why The Harry Potter Remake Including This Scene Is Important
The Harry Potter movies skipped Vernon’s day at work, instead getting straight to the baby Harry being left on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive, and then jumping ahead to him being older in the story’s present day. This kept the movie’s runtime tighter and the focus more squarely on the core characters, but the preceding events are important for our understanding of the world and the people who inhabit it.
Firstly, it gives us a perfect and immediate lesson in who Vernon is, and just how “normal” he is even by Muggle standards, refusing to tolerate anything that’s remotely out of the ordinary. That informs so much of his relationship with Harry, and his poor treatment of him, so it’s worth including for that reason alone. But it’s also the juxtaposition of that with the wizards that’s critical: this is our only direct viewpoint into the reaction to Voldemort’s demise, and of just how much it meant to them, and thus how much Harry means to them.
It’s also a very rare opportunity to see the wizarding world and the Muggle world overlap, which nicely highlights the differences between the two. On the whole, this scene, while relatively minor in terms of what actually happens and how much time it takes, is a really perfect launchpad into Harry’s arrival and everything that follows. The Harry Potter remake doesn’t have the same time constraints as the movies, so it would’ve had no excuse to cut this, and it’s great to see it being adapted at last.
The Harry Potter TV show is currently filming ahead of an expected 2027 release on HBO and HBO Max.
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Image courtesy of Prokino Filmverleih
