Today, HBO offered a proper first look at the new Harry Potter reboot series, debuting the first official photo from the set of the series. Though countless leaked images and videos have appeared as production has carried on, the first official photo from Harry Potter has immediately put them all to shame. Even better than the immediate mark of quality clear from the image, the first look at Harry Potter actually has a subtle confirmation about the show as an adaptation, teasing a scene that fans never got to see in the movies and thus far has only been found in the pages of the original book.
HBO’s Harry Potter Confirms Another Scene Not in the Films
The first look Harry Potter photo from HBO may seem like a simple tease, but it carries major implications. Even though the image only features star Dominic McLaughlin from the back, the scene depicted in the image is one that hardcore book readers should recognize. One of the most distinct things about Harry Potter’s journey in the first book is that he’s allowed to compete on the Gryffindor Quidditch team despite being a first-year student. As a result, the various Quidditch matches are featured in the story, though the initial feature film adaptation only features one. With this photo, the Harry Potter series has confirmed that another Quidditch match cut from the films will be shown on screen, one that actually has an important place in the story beyond wizarding sports.
In the pages of the first Harry Potter book, the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff Quidditch match happens in the second half of the school year, thus the snow on the ground (and the banners for the two houses on the pitch itself). Furthermore, the match has big narrative implications as none other than Severus Snape serves as the referee. Funny enough, the Quidditch match itself is hilariously short, with Harry catching the snitch just minutes after the game has begun, concluding the festivities. After the match, though, comes the important part, as Harry follows Snape when he sees him sneaking away into the Forbidden Forrest. Once there, he sees Snape meeting with Professor Quirrell, questioning him about whether he’s found a way to get around the “three-headed dog” that’s guarding the Sorcerer’s Stone. Though this scene is a quick one in the books and thus was easy to drop from the films, the show seems to be implying that it will show up on screen.
At this point in the story, Harry is still incredibly suspicious of Snape as a figure at Hogwarts, believing that many of the bad things happening have been his doing in secret. This scene of him spying on Snape serves as further confirmation for him, too, with Harry believing that Snape will try to get the stone for himself. As the story continues, Harry and his friends continue to believe that Snape is the secret antagonist, only to make their way through the trials guarding the Stone and discover that Quirrell was the secret villain working to bring back Voldemort and that Snape was actually trying to stop him the entire time.
This scene, making its way into the Harry Potter TV series, is once again further proof that the reboot is planning to be incredibly faithful to the books themselves, bringing in scenes that were previously cut. It’s also worth noting that the scene will carry even more weight down the line. In the pages of the sixth Harry Potter, The Half-Blood Prince, the scene in the Forbidden Forrest and even his attempts to stop Quirrell are used as evidence by the other Death Eaters to question Snape’s loyalty to Voldemort. Naturally, Snape is able to squash the suspicion on him, but the fact that the scene that was cut from the movies is being added into the show is yet another example of the HBO reboot planning for the future. By the time the series gets to that scene in the sixth book, the audience will have a reference point for what Snape did, and even footage to remind them of it.
