The HBO 'Harry Potter' Trailer Proves the Remake Isn't Afraid to Lean into Book Canon

When HBO announced a "faithful" 10-year adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter TV series, the collective internet question was what would be different from the show to the movie?

The answer the new trailer gives is that this looks to be a much closer to the book adaptation, just in terms of what you can fit in as a show versus what can be distilled into a movie.

Check out the trailer below and then let's talk.

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It's The Books!

I think the craziest thing about this trailer is that it looks almost scene-for-scene from the books. I loved seeing Potter wearing #7 on his Quidditch jersey, an obvious nod to Horcruxes and the books, but as a fan of the books, I didn't see any surprises.

This appears to be a diverse cast, which is great, but story-wise, I didn't see any surprises. It's not that I thought he would be sorted into Slytherin, and I was absorbed by how sweet and genuine it all looked, but I wanted at least one shocking element.

I guess I'll have to tune in for that, and if it's a faithful adaptation, so be it. I really dug the look and feel. It brought me to a world I genuinely adore.

The Takeaway for Creators

The lesson here for anyone adapting a massive IP is that "Faithful" doesn't mean "Literal." Sometimes you have to find a way to put your own nods into the material. and to scale it for whatever-sized thing you're making.

In TV, you can have a lot more story.

The HBO team knows that the books didn't mention player numbers, but they also know that the audience expects them. Sometimes, the "film canon" becomes so culturally dominant that it's more effective to adopt it than to fight it.

Summing It All Up

What do you think? Does the inclusion of specific book details make you more excited for the "book-accurate" series, or should they have started with a completely blank slate?

Let us know in the comments.