The Final 2 Harry Potter Movies Prove Why The HBO TV Show Is A Great Idea

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Summary

The Harry Potter TV show will adapt the books more faithfully, likely with a season for each novel.
Lengthier episodes will allow for more worldbuilding and a slower pace than the movies.
Unlike the movies, the TV show can include all source material without cuts, improving the adaptation.

The upcoming Harry Potter TV show will need to use a different approach to adapt JK Rowling's work when compared with the movies' methods, but the story's new medium has already been brilliantly previewed in the form of the film franchise's two-part finale. The Harry Potter books generally became much longer as the series progressed, but the movies remained roughly the same length. This resulted in more and more being omitted from the adaptations in later installments, which is far less likely in the next phase of the franchise's life.

Very little is known about HBO's Harry Potter TV show, although it is expected to premiere at some point in 2026. The obvious format would be to dedicate an entire season to each novel, which would amount to seven seasons. This would allow not just for an incredibly faithful adaptation of Rowling's work, but also leave space for extra worldbuilding and the chance to address the story at a more leisurely pace. In short, it would be an elaboration on the Harry Potter movies' final efforts.

A split poster of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) in Harry Potter and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in Fantastic Beasts

The Potterverse: All The Wizarding World Films In Chronological Order

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Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Was The Only Book Not Tackled In A Single Movie

The final Harry Potter book was split into two movies

2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 was the first time the movies' creative team had to decide where to leave the story, and not conclude the events of the source material. The onscreen events didn't continue until Part 2 was released in 2011. This is a format the Harry Potter TV show will need to adopt again and again throughout its run. In retrospect, the final two movies in the franchise feel like a dress rehearsal for the creative decisions that the show will need to make.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1

3.5

The seventh installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, follows the eponymous boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) as he and his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) leave the safety of Hogwarts and set off in search of dark magical artifacts known as Horcruxes. Finding them is the key to defeating the dark wizard Voldemort who threatens war with the magic and non-magic communities alike.

Director David Yates

Release Date October 17, 2010

Runtime 2h 26m

Of course, the TV show adaptation of Rowling's work will need to divide the book into much smaller chunks. Both Deathly Hallows movies are roughly 2.5 hours each, which is far too long for a traditional episode of TV. It's also highly likely that a multi-episode run adapting the final book in the series will be far longer than the two Deathly Hallows movies combined. There may also be a slight restructure, so each episode can end in a fitting manner.

" Fitting manner " doesn't necessarily mean each episode should end in a satisfying way. An exciting cliffhanger can also be a brilliant ending for an episode of TV.

The Harry Potter TV Show Will Probably Still Do The Deathly Hallows More Justice Than The Movies

HBO's Harry Potter adaptation can accommodate far more of the source material

The Deathly Hallows is the second-longest book in the series, with only The Order of the Phoenix boasting a higher page count. So, paired with the fact the book was used as the basis of the final movie, it made sense that the finale should be split into two parts - to accommodate more of the source material being included. That being said, even two movies weren't completely sufficient to avoid cuts. The Harry Potter TV show won't have this restriction, making the new format a superior way of ending the saga - and adapting the series in general.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

4.5

The conclusion to the film franchise based on the popular novel series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 centers on Harry and his allies as they prepare for the final battle against Lord Voldemort. The film follows Harry, Hermoine, and Ron as they continue to track down and destroy the Horcruxes to destroy Voldemort, all while the dark wizard approaches ever closer to Hogwarts with his army of followers.

Director David Yates

Release Date July 15, 2011