HBO Max kicked off 2022 with the reunion of the cast of “Harry Potter” on their streaming platform. The nearly two hour show brought back numerous actors, including the main trio: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Ruper Grint (Ron Weasely) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). The actors and crew members recounted their experiences working on the eight films.
The reunion special was split into chunks focusing on two movies at a time. The discussions were mainly Radcliffe and another person who had main ties to those films. Radcliffe talked to the director, Chris Columbus, about “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” There were also segments of the trio talking together, Grint and Watson and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) with Watson.
Fans of the movies were quick to notice who was not present in the reunion show. Maggie Smith (Professor Minerva McGonagall), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Julie Walters (Molly Weasely) and Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory) were some of the handful that were not featured in the special. Some of the lack of appearances can be due to COVID-19 as they were not able to travel to the filming locations. Others were working on other projects and simply could not make it to filming. In addition, some were already retired from acting and chose not to come. There were tributes to those who passed away over the course of the 20 years.
A clear absence from the reunion was J. K. Rowling, the author of the “Harry Potter” books. Rowling was only present in the form of interviews filmed in 2019. The reason for this most likely stems from Rowling’s recent Twitter posts regarding the transgender community. HBO Max did extend an invitation to Rowling to attend, but her team decided that the archived interviews would suffice.
Some secrets were shared among the cast members as they talked about their experiences. Watson and Felton shared their mutual love for one another on set. Watson also admitted to Grint that she wanted to quit her role at some point. Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) read a note that Radcliffe gave to her. My personal favorite was Columbus discussing how Richard Harris (Albus Dumbledore) believed that Fawkes the Phoenix was a real bird.
I believe the reunion special was what it set out to be: a sit down with the cast members and talk about filming the eight movies. I personally expected the cast to simply only talk about the first film. To see them talk about all the films was surprising. The only downside was that there wasn’t much time spent on each film. I would have preferred them to stick to the first film and potentially lead to other reunions for the other movies. Of course, this would mean spending more money filming and producing the other reunion specials. Though it would give the opportunity for the actors that could not attend the reunion special to potentially appear.
Some fans of the franchise believe that the reunion special was to “rebrand” “Harry Potter.” Due to Rowling’s comments, some think that those who love the franchise are trying to claim “Harry Potter” as “for the fans” rather than “for the author.” Removing the franchise from Rowling cuts out her beliefs and comments and allows the franchise to be enjoyed by all.
“Return to Hogwarts” was an excellent way to reminisce about the films and books. It transported the audience back into the world of “Harry Potter.” I do think some of the information revealed by the cast the die-hard fans would have already known about. However, it’s great to see the cast of characters we grew up with again and talk about their experiences. I personally can’t wait to see what these actors do next with their careers.
