HBO’s Harry Potter remake will have the books and movies to look to when constructing its version of the wizarding world, but it can also take some inspiration from the video game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Legacy. Though heavily based on the previous installments in the franchise, the game forged its own path in various ways, providing a more book-faithful version of Hogwarts and other locations while also improving aspects that didn’t quite work. Given the success of Hogwarts Legacy, it may be wise for HBO’s Harry Potter remake to keep some of these changes in mind.
HBO has already promised a more book-faithful adaptation of Harry Potter, made possible by its longer TV format. This means that the book moments that Warner Bros’ movies missed, from characters to plotlines, can finally be brought to the screen in all their glory. Hogwarts Legacy took a similar approach to its world. Though not set during Harry’s story, the game melded the Hogwarts set and features from the movies with that of the books to make players feel as if they were actually part of the wizarding world, and it was a massive success. Now, the Harry Potter remake has the benefit of having even more adaptations to inspire its version of this magical fictional universe.
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Hogwarts Legacy’s Two Biggest Changes To Harry Potter Canon
Comparing Hogwarts Legacy to Harry Potter, it’s obvious that the two share more similarities than differences, but there are some inconsistencies.
7 Hogwarts Legacy Made The Castle Bigger & More Detailed Than The Harry Potter Movies
The Harry Potter Movies Were Limited With Its Sets
The greatest difference between Hogwarts in Hogwarts Legacy and the Harry Potter movies is the sheer size and variety in design. Since Warner Bros films required sets, the indoor appearance of the castle was mostly the same—beige stone and a variety of statues. In general, audiences saw the same few locations within Hogwarts, but given the size of the castle from the outside, it was clear that there were far more rooms, corridors, and halls than what the movies included. Since Hogwarts Legacy provided the opportunity to explore every inch of Hogwarts Castle to a relative scale, the Harry Potter movies’ version wouldn’t cut it.
Hogwarts Legacy included several grand, cathedral-style halls, a variety of corridors with varying appearances, gorgeous architecture, and stained glass windows, all befitting a magical castle of this magnitude. Of course, there were still all the familiar locations of the movies (so it still felt like home to longtime Potterheads), but it made sense that there would be more. Now that the video game has established this version of Hogwarts, HBO’s Harry Potter remake can construct a set (& utilize CGI) that brings this version of the castle to life, providing the characters with far more Hogwarts locations to get up to mischief.
6 HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Can Feature All Hogwarts’ Little Secrets
Hogwarts Legacy Was Full Of The Subtle Hogwarts Features Of The Books
Similarly to the overall design of Hogwarts, Hogwarts Legacy made sure to include the many magical secrets of the books. Not only did players get to explore Harry Potter‘s famous secret passageways, but all the notable portraits, talking gargoyles, and magical suits of armor were accounted for—many of which the movies never had a chance to include. It would be exciting to see such features as the tapestry featuring Barnabas the Barmy’s attempts to teach trolls to ballet in HBO’s remake, even before Harry ever learns that directly across from it is where the door for the Room of Requirement will one day be revealed. It will make Harry Potter fans feel in on the secret.
5 Hogwarts Legacy Fixed The Problems With Alohomora (& The Remake Should Too)
Alohamora Made Locks Redundant In The Harry Potter Books
There are some ways that, to create exciting gameplay, Hogwarts Legacy improved on even the books’ version of the wizarding world. A prime example of this is the Alohamora spell, which easily unlocks virtually any lock in Harry Potter. It was first introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Hermione used it to unlock the door meant to contain Fluffy, the three-headed dog. The problem with this is that it makes any lock in the wizarding world entirely redundant—why even use locks if a spell from “Standard Book of Spells” can undo it?
In Hogwarts Legacy, however, Alohamora came in a few different forms. Basic locks can be opened using the standard version of the spell, but a witch or wizard has to master new versions to have any effect on serious magical locks. Additionally, the spell requires the user to actually pick the lock, magically moving the locking mechanisms to free its hold. This makes the spell extremely useful but not quite as overpowered as what is seen in the Harry Potter books and movies. This Hogwarts Legacy change could be adapted with a simple explanation from Hermione as to why any lock isn’t made redundant by her spell.
4 Dueling Looks So Much Cooler In Hogwarts Legacy Than In The Harry Potter Movies
Hogwarts Legacy-Style Duels Would Look Amazing In The Harry Potter Remake
The Harry Potter movies had a few good dueling moments (most notably Dumbledore vs. Voldemort in Order of the Phoenix), but in all, battles with wands fell a little flat. It seemed that no matter what spell was used, the person being attacked would simply fly backward. Or, in later installments, the characters would use nonverbal spells that would connect in a stream (even though this was supposed to be a rare occurrence unique to Harry and Voldemort’s wands). Hogwarts Legacy fixed this with visually stunning battles that feature a variety of motions and effects. It would be great to see something similar on screen in the Harry Potter remake.
3 HBO’s Remake Can Expand The World Around Hogwarts Like Hogwarts Legacy
The Harry Potter Remake Can Make Hogwarts’ World Feel Bigger
Hogwarts Legacy expanded the world around the Castle grounds to give players more to do and explore. The books only described Hogsmeade village and the Forbidden Forest, though there was also revealed to be a variety of caves up in the mountains. The video game took this to another level by including various small wizarding Hamlets around Hogwarts. These may have all died out by the events of Harry Potter, but it’s interesting to consider that smaller wizarding settlements could be spread around the Scottish Highlands near the Castle. At the very least, seeing the Golden Trio explore a little more of the expansive grounds would be interesting.
2 Hogwarts Legacy Expanded Hogsmeade With More Shops & Characters
The Harry Potter Remake Can Introduce More Shops & Shop Owners
Just as the Highlands surrounding Hogwarts were expanded in Hogwarts Legacy, there was much more to Hogsmeade Village in the game. In the Harry Potter movies, we only see a single street and the inside of Honeydukes and The Three Broomsticks. Still, since Hogsmeade is supposed to be the only all-magical settlement in Britain, there would undoubtedly be a lot more to it, including homes and several more shops. Hogwarts Legacy took this into account with its design, but HBO’s Harry Potter could feasibly take this even further.
1 Slytherins Aren’t So Demonized In Hogwarts Legacy
The Harry Potter Remake Can Introduce More “Good” Slytherin Students
To hear the Harry Potter movies tell it, Slytherins are the most horrible people in the wizarding world. Even in the books, there are only ever “good” adult Slytehrin’s, like Horace Slughorn. Of course, this is primarily because of Harry’s perspective—he was poisoned against the Slytherins from the beginning. Still, after franchise installments like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Fantastic Beasts, and, of course, Hogwart Legacy, it’s clear that not all Slytherin students were evil. The Harry Potter remake can still make it clear that Harry and his friends don’t like the Slytherins, but there could at least be a few casual characters that don’t perpetuate the stereotype.
