HBO’sHarry Potterremake is all but guaranteed to give us the story we have been begging 26 years for, but this could seriously backfire.The upcoming TV show has boasted itself as a book-faithful adaptation, which means many of the big moments the movies cut can finally be brought to the screen. What’s more, some of the stories that the books only alluded to can be explored in more depth in theHarry Potterremake.This is especially exciting considering the fact that fans have been begging for a series about James Potter and his friend since the release ofHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanin 1999.
Prior to theevents of thePrisoner of Azkabanbook, we knew very little about James Potter or his time at Hogwarts. However,from the moment that readers first heard about the Marauders, it was clear that there was a thrilling story here. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were a gang of genius teenagers who got into all sorts of mischief. As Animagi (and a werewolf), the Marauders were unique compared to their classmates.HBO’sHarry Pottercould dedicate full flashback episodes to this story, but that comes at a significant risk.
A Full Marauders Story Would Make James & Sirius Hard To Like
HBO Can’t Show Their True Colors Too Soon
We’d all love to see the Marauders getting up to all kinds of mischief in an episode or two of theHarry PotterTV show. The books mentioned some of the major events that took place during their time, such as the establishment of the Whomping Willow and Shrieking Shack, James, Sirius, and Peter’s slow transformation into Animagi, and the big moment when James saved Snape. This would all be exciting to see on screen, but it’s not the whole story.
Harry first learned about his father and the Marauders inPrisoner of Azkaban, butHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixcame with the reveal that they weren’t as great as he had initially thought. James was a spoiled, attention-seeking bully, and Sirius was his cruel partner in crime. This was so severe that Harry began to rethink the way that he perceived his father and Sirius. Of course, theHarry Pottermovies really watered this down. However, if HBO’s remake were to include an extensive Marauders story, James and Sirius' cruelty would have to be included.
The thirdseason of theHarry PotterTV showwould be the perfect time to include an episode dedicated to the Marauders. However,it would be challenging to give them a full feature without ultimately revealing too early that James and Sirius were a problem. The HBO series could, instead, only reference the Marauders' story in season 3 and wait until season 5 adaptsOrder of the Phoenixto include full flashback episodes to their time at school. However, the problem with this is that it would be far too easy for audiences to be turned against James and Sirius in general. It’s one thing to read about their cruelty, but another to see it.
There’s A Possible Solution To The Harry Potter Remake’s Marauders' Problem
A Full Redemption Story Could Make A Huge Difference
HBO’sHarry Potterremake has the power to clear several things up about the events that took place before Harry’s time. We only have bits and pieces of the Marauders' story, but the TV show could weave these together to provide audiences with a more complete tale. Of course, James and Sirius would come across rather poorly, since they truly were terrible while at school.It has been hard enough forHarry Potterbook fans to forgive these charactersfor their behavior. Seeing it all on screen would make it even worse. Still, there could be a solution.
Something else that the Harry Potter books never made clear is what exactly changed for James.
Something else that theHarry Potterbooksnever made clear is what exactly changed for James. We saw that, during his fifth year, he was just as arrogant and terrible as Snape always said he was. Even Lily hated him. However, something happened afterward that altered his morality. If HBO’sHarry Potterremake is going to include a full Marauders story, thenit must also eventually dive into how James managed to earn redemption.Somethingmust happen to make us believe that James had changed. With this information that the books left out, a Marauders story would be much less risky and far more well-rounded.
