The Harry Potter franchise was officially rewritten 22 years ago, and that shift will present a challenge for HBO’s upcoming remake. The Harry Potter show is set to debut this December, offering a fresh perspective on the fantasy books and original Warner Bros. adaptations. There are numerous obstacles facing the new series, from replacing the original Harry Potter cast to bringing something fresh to the table. While the show must embrace differences from the original films, it must also prove a more faithful take on the source material. With a TV runtime, it has no excuse to cut and alter even minor details — and sticking more closely to the script will set it apart from the movies by default.
In its attempt to do the franchise justice, the Harry Potter show must also nail the tonal changes throughout the story. One is more obvious in its film form than in the book, and it rewrites the entirety of the series. It’ll be hard to match or beat this turning point, but the remake will have to try. We’ll know in a few years whether it proves up to the challenge.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Rewrote the Entire Franchise 22 Years Ago
The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie made its debut on June 4, 2004, so it’s officially been 22 years since its release. Prisoner of Azkaban is an important installment in the series, as it’s the movie that revamps everything. After Christopher Columbus directed the first two films, approaching them with a specific style and tone, Prisoner of Azkaban threw much of it out the window. Aesthetically, its look is vastly different from its predecessors’ — and the series never goes back, with each film embracing the moodier atmosphere and darker tone established in Prisoner of Azkaban. That’s not to mention the other choices that stem from that film, like having Hogwarts students don regular clothes instead of robes.
Although some of these decisions come down to the director, it’s fitting that Prisoner of Azkaban feels like the biggest shift in Warner Bros.’ film series. The third Harry Potter book does mark a turning point of sorts, as it’s when the story begins to feel more mature. The first two Harry Potter books have their share of darkness, but they maintain a childlike whimsy that’s appropriate for a bunch of pre-teens going to Hogwarts. Prisoner of Azkaban introduces Sirius Black and the injustices faced by the Marauders, and it pushes Harry to grow up faster in the face of their grim history. It’s a shift the HBO show must handle with care, and it’s not the only one on the horizon.
Handling This Shift Will Be a Challenge for HBO’s Harry Potter Remake
With Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban rewriting the film franchise, the HBO remake will need something similar to mark its arrival. Because the third book is a change of pace from the first two, Harry Potter Season 3 needs to be darker and slightly more mature (though keeping the Hogwarts uniforms and aesthetics consistent would be wise). Season 3 will have to mirror the films in this regard while (hopefully) outdoing their approach. Getting that right is easier said than done, but doing so will nail the first of several tonal shifts that should be acknowledged — and lay the groundwork for the later ones to land, too.
Of course, it’s difficult to imagine how HBO’s show will both repeat the film’s rewrite and make itself feel like its own thing. It’s a careful balance the series must strike, and it’s best if it accomplishes it early. The later tonal shifts aren’t as dramatic in the movies, but they exist in the books and should probably follow a similar trajectory.
This Isn’t the Only Tonal Shift the Harry Potter Show Will Need to Get Right
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban‘s changes are noticeable on-screen, but this outing isn’t the only significant turn the series takes. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is just as dramatic in its delivery, at least in the source material. It brings the series to a new level of maturity, and you can feel the darkness following Voldemort’s return rippling off the pages. The film sort of captures this, but the TV show can go even further. It can use its Prisoner of Azkaban shift as a blueprint for how to do it. There’s also Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which brings the characters fully into adulthood — and, more importantly, sees them leaving Hogwarts. There are several points at which the Harry Potter show can rewrite itself. To do so successfully, it should look to the Prisoner of Azkaban movie and see how it mastered that challenge.
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