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The Harry Potter Remake’s Book Changes May Finally Fix Fantastic Beasts’ Most Disappointing Story
It’s been a big week for the upcoming Harry Potter TV show, with the HBO remake dropping its first trailer and influencers teasing what’s to come on the heels of a set visit. The attention to detail shown in the Harry Potter trailer makes it clear this version is committed to doing the books justice. However, it does showcase a few changes to the Harry Potter books and movies, most of which show more of Harry’s life at both Privet Drive and Hogwarts.
And judging by the reports from influencers visiting the set — the highlights were rounded up by Wizarding World Direct — we’ll see more of other characters’ lives as well. This is one benefit of the TV show, as its runtime will enable it to take viewers outside Harry’s perspective, showing us things like Hermione’s home and the off-limits girl’s dormitory. Per the influencers’ recaps, we’ll reportedly dig into Dumbledore’s past sooner, too. This is an intriguing development, and it could make up for the most disappointing story from the Fantastic Beasts films.
The Harry Potter TV Show Will Reportedly Dig Deeper Into Dumbledore’s Past
The reports from the Harry Potter set visits suggest that we’ll see some of Dumbledore’s past in the upcoming remake, something that doesn’t happen until much later in the books. While Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows unravels Dumbledore’s complicated history, Hogwarts’ headmaster remains mysterious in the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone book. With the remake’s audience likely already knowing the story, however, it’s looking like it won’t hold all its twists until the very end. Wizarding World Direct’s round-up also mentions a Pensieve, which doesn’t appear in the first book — but could very well be used to convey Dumbledore’s memories.
And although the remake seeks to tell a story separate from the Harry Potter movies, digging deeper into Dumbledore’s life brings up opportunities. For one, it’s a book change that could make him a more layered character from the jump. It also allows us to see his perspective of events, whereas Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows presents all of Dumbledore’s flaws when he’s not there to answer for them. But the most exciting thing this inclusion could do is fix a Fantastic Beasts story. We could finally get a decent telling of Dumbledore’s history with Gellert Grindelwald — and one that gets a proper conclusion.
With Its Book Changes, the Upcoming Remake Could Fix Fantastic Beasts’ Biggest Disappointment
It’s no secret that the Fantastic Beasts movies are among the most disappointing additions to the Harry Potter franchise, receiving plenty of criticism from fans — and pulling a lackluster box office haul with the third film, Secrets of Dumbledore, especially compared to the other Harry Potter installments. Quite a few things went wrong with Fantastic Beasts, but multiple storylines being squished together — even when they didn’t really fit — was a big factor in the series’ failure. Instead of solely exploring Newt Scamander’s adventures, the movies ended up working in Harry Potter backstories that didn’t quite fit. This included the conflict involving Gellert Grindelwald, which is spoken of throughout the original series.
And knowing Dumbledore’s history with Grindelwald, this could have made an interesting prequel…just not mixed in with the Fantastic Beasts story. The films didn’t handle this plot well, either, delivering an iteration of it that was lacking in depth and felt too unfocused. It’s a shame, as there was potential in that particular narrative. Fortunately, the Harry Potter remake can revisit it through flashbacks to Dumbledore’s past. It has the chance to do a better job with it, exploring these characters and this snippet of Wizarding World history in a far more impactful manner.
The Harry Potter Remake Could Give Fans of the Fantastic Beasts Series Closure
In addition to getting the chance to improve upon Fantastic Beasts‘ Grindelwald story, the Harry Potter TV show can also finish it. The climax of this conflict was never adapted on-screen, as the Fantastic Beasts series was paused following Secrets of Dumbledore — and at this rate, the planned fourth and fifth films likely aren’t happening. This means that Dumbledore’s legendary duel with Grindelwald won’t make its way to the big screen. However, it’s possible it could appear in some capacity on the small one, if the upcoming remake decides to give fans closure.
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