HBO's Harry Potter gives Lucius Malfoy a backstory in season 1 — the villain who actually needs one is Quirrell
‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ is set to deepen one villain — yet, for Season 1, it’s another who’s crying out for a proper backstory.
Right, nearly three decades after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first appeared on British shelves, HBO's having another crack at it — this time as a telly series. It's meant to be a fresh take, something more in line with the books than the films managed, with space to flesh out stories and side characters the original movies blitzed straight past. Whether it works is anyone's guess for now, but at least they're up front about taking a few liberties.
We're already seeing bits in the trailer that weren't in the first book — turns out we'll actually visit the Weasley Burrow before Harry does, and even Lavender Brown is tipped for more than a background gig. All good so far. Then there's the bigger change: Season 1 is set to give us a villain's backstory that was only ever implied in the book, but not who you'd expect. I'll come back to whether that's a wise call in a second.
The Malfoys Get a Head Start
The big news is, Lucius Malfoy — newly cast for TV with Johnny Flynn — is getting a proper intro in the very first season. Rather than waiting for Chamber of Secrets, he'll be on-screen from the off, complete with his own emotional baggage. Flynn chatted to Radio Times about it, laying out how he's playing the character as someone spiralling on from childhood trauma rather than flat-out cartoon baddie:
He was one of those kids bullied in his school, and he’s now turned into the bully, so he doesn’t know another way. That's how I want to play him, because I know those people quite well. On the one hand, they were the people that bullied me, they were the abusers, but at some point, they were the abused. So, nobody’s outright good or bad in the world.
It's a more nuanced approach than the marble-mouthed villain Jason Isaacs did for the films. To add, Lox Pratt (the new Draco) has said we'll see the younger Malfoy actually at home — destined to be something darker and more layered than Draco simply hissing at Harry in the corridors. There's sense in this, given the Malfoys end up pivotal across all seven books.
But, and it's a big but, starting this subplot in Philosopher's Stone does raise an eyebrow. Lucius is barely more than a name drop in the first book, his actual scheming doesn't properly take shape until the second. Bringing him forward now means the writers can get straight to his nastiness with Dobby and Ginny next season, sure. But there's a risk it just pushes aside a fresher story that should be front and centre in the very first outing.
The Real Villain Problem: Quirrell
And that brings me straight to Professor Quirrell. He's the genuine main villain of the book — the big twist at the end, the bloke with Voldemort squatting at the back of his head. Here's the thing: neither the book nor the film actually stop to explain why Quirrell goes from nervy teacher to Dark Lord's Airbnb host. It's one of the biggest leaps in the series and, if you ask me, the single best opportunity for this remake to show it's not just following the same old formula.
Apparently, Quirrell just stumbles upon Voldemort while waltzing around Europe, then lets the world's worst flatmate move in for a shot at a bit of extra power. It's a ludicrous arrangement when you actually think about it. Quirrell isn't even meant to be a hardcore Death Eater loyalist, so why does he sign up for this? The original story never gives us the grit, and that's a missed trick if Season 1 doesn't finally go there. These days, no one's going to be startled by the Quirrell twist, so the show doesn't need to mislead us into thinking Snape is Public Enemy No. 1 for a whole series. Just show us how unhinged Quirrell is, and let the story breathe a bit more danger into the Hogwarts staffroom.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone premieres on HBO on 25 December 2026.
With eight episodes this time round, the show can technically afford to give both Lucius and Quirrell proper attention. But if it ends up going all-in on the Malfoys this early, without letting Quirrell have his proper tragic (and frankly, terrifying) turn, that's a real waste. Lucius has years ahead to unravel; Quirrell only gets one shot.