While the upcoming TV series will essentially be a new adaptation of the books, certain canon changes made by author J.K. Rowling in recent years should be ignored by the new series. While exact details are still blurred, it would seem that the HBO Max show will follow the plot of the books, the same as the film series did. This remake will be a great opportunity to fix any mistakes made in the , as well as include some much-missed details from the original books that weren't included the first time around.
, is so large that it was expanded past its original seven novels that were split into eight films.
which was originally a fictional guide in the books, was itself turned into three films. The West End play, followed 15 years after the With such a sprawling world comes retcons and changes, but over the years. They need to be dropped in the new series.
In 2016, J.K. Rowling replied to a social media post confirming that Harry's Uncle Vernon would have voted leave in the UK Brexit referendum.
Even though there's no risk of this particular topic coming up in the new remake, seeing as the series is mainly set in the 1990s, this doesn't mean that Mr. Dursley won't suddenly be more vocal about his political opinions. Of course, the character was always quite outspoken and bigoted towards wizardkind, but human politics were never focused on previously, and there's no reason for that to change.
revealed that Voldemort's pet snake and companion, Nagini (Claudia Kim), was once a human woman.
While, in theory, this isn't even close to being it's still unusual. Rowling's explanation for it was that Nagini was a Maledictus, a human with a blood curse who could turn into a snake. However, as , the Dark Lord often milked venom from her fangs and drank it to regain his strength, as established in Nagini actually being a human simply offers more plotholes than it does fixes, unfortunately.
One of the biggest reveals that came after the film franchise was the introduction of in According to the change in canon, Delphini was born in secret at Malfoy Manor in late March 1998, which is the same time that the events of Dobby's death occurred.
Seeing as these two moments line up, where Bellatrix was clearly not pregnant and still on her unhinged warpath, the remake would have to address this. Details on just how she was able to give birth and try to kill Harry and the others at the same time would need to be provided, although it is likely to be complicated. Either Delphini was being hidden in another room, or Bellatrix was managing to hide her pregnancy, but the entire concept just feels too farfetched.
One retcon that blows a hole in several plot points comes from Rowling's reveal in 2015 that Hogwarts came with no costs. However, this doesn't make any sense. Both the book and film showed Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) receiving his inheritance from his parents, which he was able to use to pay for everything. When Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) gives him a list of things he'll need, Harry is quick to ask how he will be able to pay for it all.
Another example of why this doesn't work is with the Weasley family, who were often subject to comments about their financial status.
showed them having to buy second-hand books, and there were also several references throughout the series about the Weasleys wearing each other's hand-me-downs. Even if Hogwarts didn't charge a tuition fee, supplies and equipment still had to be paid for, proving that the Ministry of Magic did not cover the cost of all magical education.
Although a small detail, one change to the
retcon was that Wizardkind didn't use traditional Muggle plumbing until the 18th century. Until this happened, they would simply relieve themselves where they stood and then make the evidence disappear. This seems an unusual aspect to adapt, considering relies on a bathroom to help hold up a large majority of its plotline.
Even though the dates don't line up, it seems odd that it was never mentioned before. who had spent decades as a ghost in a bathroom, should have surely been aware of this, and it would make sense for her to comment on perhaps not dying if the original method was still the case at the time of her death.
Seeing as this fact was established years after the release of the books and films, it feels more like a funny tidbit, rather than something that should be considered official canon.
In 2015, Rowling claimed that divination was not really a subject, rather attributing it to coincidence instead. Divination Studies was an important and frequently referenced class, especially in If the remake were to treat Divination as Rowling does, it would cause several big plotholes.
It would mean that there be no use for Professor Trelawney, who also made Voldemort's prophecy, which would make this huge story element redundant. It also means that Hermione taking the Divination class would suddenly be out of character for her. Hermione's use of the time-turner was so she could take multiple subjects that overlapped, and even if she did eventually drop the subject due to stress, she wasn't the kind of character who would waste her time on something that was not worth it, which contradicts Rowling's characterization of her.
followed a story of time travel and alternate timelines, making some significant canon changes to the time-turner. gave some rather precise and strict rules for the time-turner, including a limit of traveling back a maximum of five hours. However, one that seemingly had no boundaries.
These new time-turners felt like they were introduced for the sake of the story's convenience more than anything else. While the "true" time-turners were created by former Slytherin student Theodore Nott, and introduced sometime after the Battle of Hogwarts, it wouldn't be surprising if Rowling decided to change the canon so they appear earlier in the timeline.
If HBO plans on incorporating these new versions into the remake, it'll just complicate a lot of lore that was already set in stone.
Yet another could cause a big plot problem for the original series. established that polyjuice potion needed to initially stew for 21 days and then have fluxweed picked during a full moon added to it, taking the entire operation around a month to complete.
In the potion is used by Albus, Scorpius, and Delphini to sneak into Hermione's office.
However, the three seem to craft the potion instantly. Even if this could be put down to the pacing of the play's script, with the crafting of it done off-stage, it seems odd that they wouldn't acknowledge the usual time-consuming process. If this detail change is then replicated in the HBO remake, it would make the events of very different, once again changing the original, established lore.
