I’m relieved to see that HBO is fixing a casting problem from the originalHarry Pottermovies, but it won’t matter by the time we need this change the most. As beloved as the originalHarry Pottermovies were, we can’t pretend that they were perfect.HBO’s remake has teased that it will be as faithful as possible to J.K. Rowling’s books, with the potential to delve even deeper into aspects of the story than the novels themselves. This is highly intriguing, and the casting for theHarry PotterTV show seems to be the first step to making this happen.
An exciting aspect of theHarry PotterTV shows' castingso far is the actors' ages. In theHarry Pottermovies, the generation of Lily and James Potter was all played by performers significantly older than their book characters. However, HBO’s choices of Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Bel Powley (Petunia Dursley), and Daniel Rigby (Vernon Dursley) are encouraging, as these actors are in or around their 30s, just as they should be. This hints thatyoung actors (in their 20s) will be cast to play James and Lily Potter in theHarry Potterremake, but there’s still a problem here.
The Harry Potter Remake’s Younger Actors Won’t Help During The Deathly Hallows Flashbacks
The Harry Potter Remake’s Age Accuracy Has A Time Limit
Essiedu and Powley are both in their 30s, which is precisely how old their characters are meant to be inHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Though this may seem like a small detail, the relative youth of this generation is profoundly important. Lily andJames Potter were murdered by Voldemortwhen they were only 21, so they and their peers (both on the side of good and bad)were little more than children when they began fighting in the war. The idea of young people facing such a tragedy is significant to the themes ofHarry Potter, so it’s great that HBO is getting this right.
James and Lily should always appear very young on screen, but the actors who play them will have aged by the time of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Given the encouraging casting announcements, we can hope that the actors playing Lily and James Potter in theHarry PotterTV show will be in their 20s. However,there would still be a problem in this regard since these deceased characters aren’t supposed to age. Harry’s parents died when he was a baby, but he sees them in various forms—as something like spirits or in flashbacks—through several installments of theHarry Potterbooks. James and Lily should always appear very young on screen, but the actors who play them will have aged by the time ofHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
InHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry saw the full scene of James and Lily’s murder through Voldemort’s memory. This flashback adds valuable context to the circumstances of how these characters were killed, while subtly revealing the magic that kept Harry alive.
Similarly,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsdives more into Snape’s story as a young adult, butby the time these scenes are filmed, Essiedu will be in his 40s. Characters like Snape, Sirius, Lupin, Petunia, and Vernon being cast with their book-accurate ages in mind is all well and good when it comes to the “present” story. However, this valuable accuracy will be out the window when it matters the most within their stories.
There May Be Solutions To Keep HBO’s Harry Potter Remake More Age-Accurate
The Harry Potter Movies Provide Some Answers
Though it can be assumed that different actors will play the Marauders generation for scenes set during their teenage years, HBO is likely to want the flashback scenes that should exist throughout theHarry Potterseries to be played by the primary actors selected for the roles. So, while the series initially cast age-accurate actors, this may no longer be the case on screen by the time ofHarry Potter’s end. However, there are ways the TV remake can address this issue to ensure consistency with the characters and their ages.
TheHarry Pottermovies utilized one of these options during the Severus Snape flashbacks inDeathly Hallows Part 2.Actor Alan Rickman was digitally aged down, ensuring that he appeared as a young manwhen he discovered Lily Potter’s body at Godric’s Hollow. HBO’s TV remake could take a similar route, but assuming that the TV show dives even further into the Marauders' generation’s backstories, this could quickly become arduous. Instead, it could be better if HBO’s TV remake had planned ahead.
While the complete picture may not be on screen until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the scenes could be filmed during production for season 1.
If theHarry Potterremake casts actors in their 20s to play Lily and James Potter, thenHBO could get ahead of the game and film as many of their scenes as possible at the very beginning. So, while the complete picture may not be on screen untilHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the scenes could be filmed during production for season 1. Similarly, Snape’s younger scenes can be filmed while Essiedu is only a decade older than his character, rather than the 20-year gap that would exist if filming happened later. It’s a small thing, but getting ahead of the game gives theHarry Potterremake an authentic edge.
Harry Potter
Cast
Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did.
