HBO's Harry Potter Season 1 is making a major change from the original movies with new flashback scenes. In adapting Harry Potter as movies, Warner Bros. was restricted to just over two hours to tell each story (outside The Deathly Hallows, which received two parts). This time around, HBO will have eight one-hour episodes per book, which will prove essential for the later, longer books, as many characters, storylines, and details had to be omitted from the movies.
That said, the earlier, shorter novels, including Season 1's source material, The Sorcerer's Stone, aka The Philosopher's Stone, were far more faithfully adapted for the big screen and thus have less to expand on in the HBO series. Perhaps the biggest omission came through the book's first chapter, "The Boy Who Lived," which was told through the perspective of Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley, on the day that Voldemort was defeated and Lily and James Potter died.
Fortunately, HBO won't be making this same mistake, as the filming of these flashback events, which occur 11 years before the rest of the Harry Potter storyline, was spotted recently on location in the U.K. Onlookers spotted Daniel Rigby's Vernon Dursley suited up for work as he bumps into an eccentric, purple-cloaked wizard who was celebrating Voldemort's defeat.
The purple-cloaked man will be played in Harry Potter by All Creatures Great and Small actor Jon Furlong. While his identity was never confirmed, the mystery wizard has been popularly theorized to be Dedalus Diggle, an Order of the Phoenix member who appears in the later books in similar purple attire.
The interruptions to Vernon's day won't stop there, as more witches and wizards celebrating Voldemort's defeat were seen blocking the road during filming.
Production on Vernon's chaotic place took place in the English town of Hoddesdon, which is located around 42 kilometers (26 miles) from Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, where a "small metropolis" has been erected for Harry Potter.
While Vernon encountered the eccentric purple-cloaked man in Chapter 1, "The Boy Who Lived," he instead bumped into him outside his drill-making workplace, Grunnings, and not a bakery as he will in the HBO series.
Fans may have also caught a peek at two unknown actors as Lily and James Potter during overnight production in Wardown Park, Luton. A magical couple was spotted holding hands in a scene that reportedly involved "pyrotechnics" as they ran across a bridge, perhaps being chased by Lord Voldemort himself.
The fast-paced pursuit was captured by eagle-eyed onlookers, which is especially interesting as no such scenes are featured in the movies or books.
This could point toward further flashbacks featuring Lily and James Potter, possibly depicting Voldemort pursuing them and, ultimately, their tragic deaths.
This isn't the first sign that Harry Potter Season 1 will make changes from the books, as Bertie Carvel has been cast as Cornelius Fudge and Johnny Flynn is signed on to play Lucius Malfoy.
Neither the Minister for Magic nor Draco Malfoy's father appears in the books or movies until Book 2, The Chamber of Secrets, indicating their debuts have been moved up for the HBO reboot series.
What Will Happen in HBO's Harry Potter Flashback Scenes?
Harry Potter fans will be well aware of the Prophecy that predicted the Boy Who Lived as "the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord." That Prophecy pointed toward Harry as it noted he would be "born as the seventh month dies," but also that he would be "born to those who have thrice defied him."
It's never been clear exactly what was meant in saying that Lily and James had "thrice defied" Voldemort, beyond his attempt to recruit them to the Death Eaters. Harry's parents' encounters with Voldemort could be depicted in these flashbacks, with the Dark Lord himself possibly being the one chasing them across the bridge.
As such, the HBO reboot could open with flashbacks building toward Lily and James' deaths and Voldemort's defeat. The focus may then shift toward Vernon Dursley's "normal" day, where he encounters these wizards and later has his baby nephew, Harry, placed on his doorstep by Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Hagrid.
Cornelius Fudge and Lucius Malfoy's early debuts could also play into these flashbacks, touching on the impact of Voldemort's defeat on the Wizarding World.
Having spent one of Season 1's eight episodes setting the scene for Voldemort's demise in a way neither the movies nor books truly did, Episode 2 could skip forward 11 years later, with Harry waking up in the cupboard under the stairs.
Ultimately, eight hours may be excessive time to adapt The Sorcerer's Stone faithfully, so it makes sense to add new content. Not only will this help differentiate the HBO show from the movies, but it could also make it better by exploring more of Lily and James as characters themselves, not just Harry's parents.
Read more about another Harry Potter movie problem that HBO is fixing.
