Summary

  • HBO's Harry Potter needs to adapt elements from "Goblet of Fire" to stand out and be unique.
  • Making slight changes to the Triwizard Cup stages can create unpredictability and refresh the story.
  • HBO should not just rely on adding new scenes from the books; it needs to find slight differences.

HBO's Harry Potter television series is highly anticipated, given the franchise's popularity. The series will receive considerable attention, but that doesn't guarantee its success, as there will be many comparisons to the movie series.

The Harry Potter films brought unprecedented levels of success and took the story to new levels of popularity due to the video games and theme park attractions based on them. While the films were a hit, that doesn't mean that HBO needs to follow them beat for beat. That is where there needs to be a level of creativity, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire lends itself to that better than any other.

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HBO’s Harry Potter Must Copy The Movies In This Aspect After $1 Billion Warner Bros Investment To Be A Success

HBO's Harry Potter needs to copy one specific aspect of the movie series following Warner Bros' $1 billion investment.

HBO Should Adapt Elements Of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

The Various Tasks Harry Potter Has To Complete Are Tweakable

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire will be the fourth season of HBO's television series, and that story provides the best opportunity for the show to be different and unique. The main story of the Triwizard Cup is something that needs to continue, as HBO can't drastically change the plot, as this is one of the most critical aspects of the overall book. However, the Triwizard Cup itself provides an excellent moment for HBO to make significant changes. The three stages of the tournament do not need to be precisely as they are within the movies, as there are plenty of other ways to push Harry Potter and the other competitors and showcase various magical creatures.

The final stage needs to end with a mystery port key, just as the movie does because this leads to the return of Lord Voldemort. However, everything up until that stage doesn't have to be the same. Many magical creatures could be used instead of what happens in the movies. In the Harry Potter films, they use dragons, Grindylows, and an enchanted maze full of different traps to determine an overall winner. Switching these up wouldn't hurt the story itself, but it would allow each stage of the competition to feel unique and refreshing, giving fans something new to look forward to with each episode that features them. This would make those moments more unpredictable, as fans would have no clue what was about to happen, while HBO would have the chance to explore the wizarding world in more detail.

HBO Has Already Proven It's Ready To Make The Harry Potter Television Show Unique

HBO Has Made Bold Casting Decisions

John Lithgow in The Crown
John Lithgow in The Crown 

Making a significant change to JK Rowling's original story might be deemed controversial by some fans, who will want the television series to stay faithful to the source material. However, HBO has already proven its willingness to make bold calls to ensure that this version of the beloved tale is fresh and unique with its early casting announcements. HBO hired John Lithgow to play Albus Dumbledore, shocking many people because he was American. Meanwhile, casting Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape was another surprising call that differs greatly from the movies. However, both are talented actors and will undoubtedly put their own spin on those popular characters, which should make them feel fresh within the Harry Potter series. These decisions are going to be important if HBO wants this version of Harry Potter to succeed, and altering plot elements would follow this type of bold thinking.

HBO's Harry Potter Will Have To Find Slight Differences To Be Worthwhile

HBO Shouldn't Just Rely Upon Adding New Scenes Left Out Of The Harry Potter Movies

harry potter tv series cast harry ron hermione

Whether HBO makes major changes during the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire season or not, the series will have to find slight differences to make it worthwhile for people to watch. The movies aren't old enough to be at the point where audiences are crying out for them to be remade because they still hold up perfectly well. That is why HBO needs to find unique ways to tell the story; just copying everything that happened in the same way as the movies will make this feel rather pointless. Of course, the new cast will put their own spin on things, and there will be noticeable visual differences, but they're still going to use the same lines and perform the same actions. HBO has to find ways to slightly deviate from the movies, even if that means going away from the source material at points.

Something that a lot of Harry Potter fans want to see is HBO adding new scenes from the books that had been omitted from the movies. The film series only had so much time per book to tell the story, meaning plenty of enjoyable moments were left on the cutting room floor to save time and ensure the bulk of the story was being told. However, while there are plenty of moments like that, such as diving into Neville Longbottom's character in more detail, where the television show would thrive, there are also a lot of moments that were just filler. A book can build a world in more detail than a movie because it doesn't have time constraints, but that doesn't mean they should all be translated into HBO's version of Harry Potter. Throwing in lots of filler scenes just to be different won't help the show feel unique; it will just weaken the quality. That's why HBO has to take advantage of obvious moments where a significant change can happen, which Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire provides.

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Harry Potter
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Showrunner
Francisca Gardiner
Directors
Mark Mylod
Writers
Francesca Gardiner
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Dominic McLaughlin
    Harry Potter
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    Janet McTeer
    Minerva McGonagall
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    John Lithgow
    Albus Dumbledore
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    Nick Frost
    Hagrid
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