HBO’s Harry Potter Reboot has 1 perspective problem the books and movies never have

HBO’s Harry Potter Series will have a perspective challenge that is not an issue for the books or movies. The series will adapt each of the seven Harry Potter BooksWith season 1 covering Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s StoneAnd each subsequent outing with the next novel. Francesca Gardiner, who previously worked on His dark materials, SuccessionAnd Murder IVwill serve as the showrunner, while Game of ThronesMark Mylod will direct several episodes.

An opening casting call has begun for HBO’s Harry Potter Remake, with a new young trio needed to play the iconic roles previously portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. The longer format of a streaming series provides the opportunity to provide a faithful adaptation of the Harry Potter BooksFeaturing beloved details and characters that didn’t make it into the movies. At the same time, a streaming series presents new challenges, especially when it comes to the central point of view.

The Harry Potter books and movies depend on telling the story from Harry’s POV

There’s a good reason it’s almost all Harry’s perspective

The Harry Potter Books and movies are primarily told from Harry’s perspective. The only exceptions to this are some opening chapters of the books. Saucer’s stone Begins with Vernon Dursley’s point of view, and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Features early chapters from the perspectives of the Minister of Magic and Death Eaters. The movies rarely venture outside of Harry’s mindWith exceptions including the Azkaban breakout in Order of the Phoenix And the bridge is destroyed Play Half-Blood Princes opening.

Limiting the story to Harry’s perspective works wellHow much of the plot depends on the limited information he and his friends have. They often seek answers to the mysteries surrounding them, and many of them Harry PotterThe best plot twists resonate because Harry doesn’t have the full picture of what’s going on. It is shocking and powerful when Harry realizes that Severus Snape is not the villain of Saucer’s stoneAnd it’s especially jarring when Snape kills Dumbledore Play Half-Blood Prince. The twists work because Harry doesn’t know what the other characters are doing behind closed doors.

HBO’s Harry Potter reboot needs to overcome a huge perspective problem

TV shows rarely stick with just 1 perspective

The dependence on Harry’s POV is a problem for HBO Harry Potter RemakeLike most TV shows are not limited to the perspective of one character. Instead, they tend to move between the main characters of the story. Since one of the earliest selling points of the upcoming series is its ability to be a more faithful adaptation, it may try to keep each season limited to Harry’s point of view in the spirit of the books. However, limiting most of a seven-time show to A single character’s point of view can make the scope of the story feel too small.

It would be compelling to shift the perspective away from Harry and see the story through the eyes of Snape, Dumbledore, Harry’s peers, or even villainous characters like Voldemort and Dolores Umbridge. The problem with seeing too much of the wizarding world through the characters’ eyes is that it can prevent certain plot twists from feeling surprising or rewarding. If too much time is spent When you see the story through the point of view of a character like Snape, it will inevitably be less of a mystery About his loyalties and actions in the later seasons.

It’s not worth sacrificing Harry Potter’s twists to expand on other subplots

Game-changing revelations should not be cheapened

The idea of ​​seeing parts of the series through other characters’ perspectives is intriguing, however It is not worth losing the full impact of Harry Potters biggest plot twists. From Peter Pettigrew being the one who actually betrayed Lily and James Potter to Professor Alastor “Mad Eye” Moody secretly being Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise, the twists in the books and movies are among the most enduring and well-executed parts of the franchise. Undermining these in any way would be a disservice to history.

Despite Harry PotterThe expansive cast of characters, Harry is ultimately the protagonist of the series, and the biggest twists work largely because of the impact they have on him. Other subplots, however interesting, should not take pride in the journey of Harry and his hero. HBO’s Harry Potter It is already difficult to live with the legacy of the books and moviesAnd failing to properly adapt important plot twists in favor of other elements will automatically make the series feel like a worse adaptation.

How HBO’s remake can have the best of both worlds

A careful balance is needed

The HBO series should primarily stay grounded in Harry’s point of view, just like the books and movies, and also carefully find opportunities to expand certain characters or storylines. Such expansions will work best by adding moments that do not contain too many relevant plot details. for example, Showing a Quidditch match that doesn’t feature Gryffindor can be an exciting way to explore new perspectives without potentially spoiling or undermining crucial plot details. This could provide more insight into other Quidditch players and Hogwarts students, including Draco Malfoy, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang.

What the series should avoid are things like showing the full conversation between Snape and Quirinus Quirrell Or the conversation where Dumbledore tells Snape to kill him. There are other ways to flesh out the characters further without giving away major plot details. And while expansions that aren’t focused on the main story may seem unimportant at first glance, they help immerse viewers in the wizarding world. See day-to-day life at Hogwarts and learn more about these Harry Potter Universe will no doubt be welcome.

This is the fine line that needs to be walked in order to ensure that the upcoming Harry Potter TV show is a faithful adaptation that is mostly rooted in Harry’s perspective. It doesn’t have to Only Being told from Harry’s POV, but it has to be creative when it comes to keeping the series’ biggest revelations under wraps. These are the types of challenges HBO will need to overcome to prove the new adaptation of the original Harry Potter Books are worthwhile. Otherwise, fans might write it off just as it’s getting started.