Gary Oldman says the Harry Potter films cut too much, and HBO can finally do it word for word
A Harry Potter star reckons HBO’s reboot could outshine the films — and has a straightforward reason for saying so.
We all know Harry Potter is heading back to screens—this time via HBO, and not as yet another set of films, but as a TV reboot. Now, one of the film series' best-loved stars has weighed in, and he actually reckons the new version might even outshine the films millions grew up with. It's not the sort of endorsement you get every day.
More book, less trimming
Gary Oldman, who delivered possibly the only version of Sirius Black fans will ever accept, recently spoke to EW about the whole concept of Warner Bros. doing the Potter saga all over again for telly. He pointed out what any fan who ever sat through a midnight screening knows instinctively: as good as the films were, they had to cut swathes out just to keep things (relatively) short and sweet. No one wants to watch a four-hour Yule Ball, evidently.
Here's how Oldman summed up why this time, the new series might go further:
We had to cut a lot, and still we could only get the films down to, like, three hours. I believe [the TV series is] gonna do it pretty much word for word, which I think as a viewer would be more satisfying.
Basically, the big difference is pure runtime. With each of the seven books getting, essentially, an entire TV season—likely clocking in at eight hours or more for each—there's no real need to chop out everything that doesn't fit neatly between shots of the castle and Quidditch. That means entire subplots and characters ignored by the films could actually turn up at last. There are even bits readers have moaned about missing for decades—Regulus Black, for instance, or the eternally snubbed Peeves the Poltergeist—that could make it in this time.
Each of HBO's Harry Potter seasons is expected to run about eight hours, giving the series room to include characters and scenes previously cut from the films.
Nostalgia and credit where it's due
Oldman didn't just talk up the new adaptation. He also got a bit reflective about his days on the set. According to him, people tend to gloss over how much of a hand original director Chris Columbus had in shaping the series, particularly when it came to assembling that standout cast. Oldman made it clear there was a bit of lightning-in-a-bottle magic at work with the original team, saying Columbus deserves more acknowledgement for setting the tone and getting everyone on board for the journey.