HBO's Harry Potter Remake Can Finally Flesh Out One Big Wizarding World Reveal, 17 Years Later

HBO's Harry Potter remake has the chance to expand on smaller elements of the books, and the TV show can finally flesh out one Wizarding World reveal from the opening of Half-Blood Prince. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince kicks off with a scene featuring the Minister of Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister. After years of being told that magic must be kept secret from Muggles, the sixth installment tells us that Muggle leaders do, in fact, know about the Wizarding World.

This is a huge revelation, but it isn't explored enough in the later Harry Potter books. After Cornelius Fudge introduces the Muggle Prime Minister to his successor, Rufus Scrimgeour, the relationship between these leaders is never mentioned again. This is an unfortunate thing for the source material to gloss over, and the movies don't do anything to rectify it. However, HBO's upcoming reboot will have the time to dig deeper and explore the complexities of this shared secret.

Harry Potter Doesn't Explore The Relationship Between Muggle & Wizarding World Leaders Enough

Half-Blood Prince Only Touches On It Briefly

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince's opening chapter is a massive development for the series, but it isn't treated as such. Written from the Muggle Prime Minister's perspective, this chapter reveals that he's been in contact with Cornelius Fudge a handful of times — and that he's aware of magical threats to the Muggle population. In addition to introducing Scrimgeour, Fudge warns him of one such threat in "The Other Minister." The Muggle leader learns that Voldemort is back and responsible for a series of tragedies, but he isn't able to do much but stutter.

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And in general, it seems like the Ministry of Magic has the upper hand in this relationship, as the Muggle Prime Minister can't tell anyone about his unusual visits from Fudge or Scrimgeour; as the book notes, no one would believe him if he did. This sort of explains why the Wizarding World's biggest secret hasn't come out, though it's a pretty simplistic way to handle the situation. It also raises questions about why the Muggle Prime Minister must know about magic, as there's little he can do about problems like Death Eaters and Voldemort.

The introduction of this government collaboration exists solely to introduce the new Minister of Magic in an interesting way, but Harry Potter could do so much more with it. While the books don't deliver on the potential of this Half-Blood Prince reveal, the HBO series can give it the attention it deserves.

HBO's Harry Potter Remake Can Finally Flesh Out How The 2 Governments Work Together

This May Require Making Changes To The Books

Harry Potter's TV remake can make the relationship between Britain's Muggle government and the Ministry of Magic more interesting, fully fleshing out why these entities must work together in the first place. This question goes unanswered in the books, which don't elaborate on what this relationship does for either side. The Muggle Prime Minister may know about potential threats to his people, but there isn't anything he can do about them. And he doesn't appear to offer much to the Wizarding World, begging the question of why they'd bother connecting with him.

HBO's reboot can flesh out the relationship between the two governments further, elaborating on how exactly they aid one another. This may require making changes to the books. It'd be interesting to see incidents addressed by both governments working together. The Muggle Prime Minister could even have resources or a team dedicated to magical affairs, and the Ministry of Magic can have something similar. If Harry Potter is going to include this connection, it might as well go all the way with it. It would certainly make the Wizarding World feel more fleshed out.

This Book Change Would Make HBO's Adaptation Feel More Grounded In Reality

Harry Potter Should Feel Like It Takes Place In The Real World

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While changes can hurt adaptations of popular books, altering the dynamic between the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle government could be good for Harry Potter. After all, the series is supposed to be set in the real world — and it should feel that way outside the confines of Hogwarts. Showing how the Ministry of Magic navigates problems that impact the Muggle world will make the story feel more grounded in reality. It will also help fill in major gaps from Half-Blood Prince's opening reveal.

Some viewers may not want HBO's Harry Potter TV show to feel more realistic — the original story is praised for being a nostalgic source of escapism — but fleshing out these details would make the world feel more immersive. There's no denying that certain aspects of the Harry Potter books don't go far enough, leaving holes in the world-building and story. With more time to explore these elements of the original story, the reboot can climb further than both the books and the movies.

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. Upon the announcement of the Harry Potter TV show, the series received harsh criticism for the involvement of Rowling and for many thinking a reboot was unnecessary.

Seasons 1

Directors Mark Mylod

Showrunner Francisca Gardiner

Main Genre Adventure