Harry Potter: These scenes absent from the first film we hope to see in the series! – News series

In the general opinion, the first film in the Harry Potter saga is most faithful to the novels of JK Rowling. It must be said that the first novel – Harry Potter at the Sorcier School – is the shortest of the seven, with only 311 pages (as a comparison, the last novel has almost the double: 607 pages in total).

This does not mean that the film by Chris Columbus did not put aside the passages of the book. And many fans hope that the series soon devoted to the adventures of the Sorcier apprentice will allow an even more faithful adaptation of the original novel.

No, Hagrid is not the very first character to appear in Harry Potter!

Harry Potter fans remember, for example, that the book does not start with the Harry Bébé deposit on the doorstep of the Dursley, but a few hours earlier. We follow Vernon Dursley during his working day disturbed by explosions of joy in the street. We, readers, know that it is sorcerers who celebrate the fall of Voldemort.

All this will push him to ask his wife Petunia in the evening if she has news of her sister Lily. This is a sensitive subject, because his wife has very distant relationships with his sister who is a witch, while she herself has no magic power.

It was only after bedtime, that the motorcycle piloted by Hagrid landed in front of the 4th, Privet Drive to entrust Harry Potter to his uncle and aunt. Another change: Harry makes use of magic for the first time in his life during a zoo outing with the Dursley. In the novel, it is however mentioned that other cases of accidental use of magic took place before that.

Back to the Dursley before going to Hogwarts

Harry and Hagrid only found themselves eleven years later. Faced with the refusal of the Dursley to leave Harry to open his letter of convocation to the Hogwarts school, the semi-manager was charged by Professor Dumbledore to take the young boy to shop for the start of the school year in London.

In the film, Hagrid then deposits Harry at King's Cross station where he quickly met the Weasley. In the novel, the young boy returns to the Dursley until the end of the summer holidays. It is Vernon who drops him off at the station, and the latter laughs at his nephew when he sees on his ticket that his train will leave in the process of 9/4/4.

In the novel, the first meeting between Harry and Draco Malefoy took place before the start of the school year. She takes place in a dresses store, and Draco explains to Harry that he plans to make a whim so that her father offers him a racing broom. In the film, the two characters meet at Hogwarts, shortly before the magic choice ceremony.

This emblematic character is almost absent from films

An emblematic character of the novels, Peeves appears only very briefly in the first film. This completely crazy ghost, however, plays an important role in the plot, by putting sticks in the wheels at the night getaways of Harry, Ron and Hermione and alerting the rusard concierge for the simple pleasure of seeing them get punished.

In the film, the three heroes discover the dog with three bushy heads after the magic stairs of Hogwarts played a tour. In the novel, it does not happen at all. Only Harry and Ron make this discovery, which takes place in the middle of the night after Draco did not go to the meeting place for the challenge he had launched at Harry. Neville was also present, because the latter forgot the password of the entrance to the Gryffindors room.

The protagonists of the retention scene in the forest are also different in the film and in the book. In the novel, Ron is in the infirmary because he was bitten by the Dragon Norbert. Harry, Hermione are however indeed punished, as well as Neville who had left the dormitory to warn his friends from the trap that was preparing to draw them Drago (who was also punished by Professor McGonagall).

The end of the film is different from that of the book

This is the most important change between the book and the first film. In the adaptation to the cinema, four tests are to be crossed in order to access the play which hides the philosopher's stone: the hidden hatch under the luggish legs, the devil's net – a plant fearing heat and light, the flying keys enchanted by Professor Flitwick, and finally the giant chess game imagined by Professor McGonagall.

The novel offers two additional tests: an enigma around the potions, and a duel with a giant troll (Harry, Ron and Hermione did not have to face it, since the latter was already knocked out during their passage). So let's hope that the series allows these two additional tests to be shown on the screen!

Finally, a slight change concerning the end of this first adventure. The film ends on the station platform; As the train is preparing to leave Hogwarts, Harry gives Hagrid a last look. As for the book, it ends on the reunion between the young wizard and the Dursley; Harry then has fun formulating false magical formulas to terrorize his cousin Dudley.

The shooting of the Harry Potter series will start soon, with a view to broadcasting at the end of 2026 / early 2027 exclusively on HBO Max.

Discover the list of series currently available on the platform!