I Love Fred & George – But HBO's Harry Potter Remake Must Fix The Movies' Biggest Weasley-Twin Mistakes

Fred and George are among my favorite characters in the Harry Potter movies, but I’m hoping the upcoming HBO TV remake makes some much-needed changes to their characters. Like most book-to-screen adaptations, the Warner Bros’ Harry Potter films were forced to leave a great deal of the story out. The TV remake, on the other hand, will have the benefit of a lot more time to include the nuances of characters and plotlines. In the case of Fred and George, I hope this means that their own personalities will be a little more fleshed out.

Pranksters and entrepreneurs, the Weasley twins were the central comedic force of the Harry Potter series, both in the books and movies. James and Oliver Phelps did phenomenal jobs bringing Fred and George to life, and I find myself unable to imagine anyone else while reading the Harry Potter books. Their comedic timing was excellent, especially considering their ages when they first began playing the twins, and their mischievous nature was always evident on screen. I have no criticism whatsoever for the Phelpses’ portrayals, but the way Fred and George were written for the movies is another matter.

Fred & George Didn’t Have Their Own Identities In The Harry Potter Movies

The HBO Remake Must Treat Fred & George As Individuals

Fred and George were essentially a single unit in the Harry Potter movies. Unless another character specifically pointed out who was who, it was difficult to tell on screen which was Fred and which was George, but it never really mattered much. They spoke at the same time and did all the same things, to the point that the Weasley twins are often treated like a single character with a unified arc in the movies. While this is somewhat true for the books, the garbling of their individuality was far less pronounced since the text always identified who Harry was speaking to.

Since the Harry Potter books made it much easier to tell the Weasley twins apart, their own unique traits began to shine through. They were both certainly mischievous and too clever for their own good, but Fred tended to be the more playful and fearless of the pair. This also meant he was a tad more aggressive and more gung-ho to pick on Ron or blackmail Ludo Bagman to collect the money he owed them. On the other hand, George was (slightly) more reserved and calculated and provided a voice of reason when Fred took things too far.

The Movies Giving Fred & George Shared Dialogue Didn’t Help

Fred & George’s Shared Lines Were Fun, But Only Harmed Their Characters

The main reason that the Harry Potter movies failed to communicate Fred and George’s differences is that they were often given overlapping dialogue. The Phelps brothers were given nearly all the same lines and had to either deliver them simultaneously or volley the words back and forth. Many of these sentences (such as their instructions about the Marauders Map) were so complicated that it gave the impression that Fred and George were sharing a mind, and this made it seem even more like they lacked their own thoughts and personalities.

Aesthetically, Fred and George’s quirky line delivery made their roles in the Harry Potter movies all the more whimsical, and it’s now difficult to imagine them any other way. However, with the trade-off being the characters’ individuality, it simply isn’t worth it. I would love to see HBO’s TV remake take a different route, giving the new actors coming in to play Fred and George more of their own lines and even some time alone on screen. After all, the Weasley twins’ stories don’t end the same, and the Harry Potter movies demonstrate that if Fred and George‘s individuality isn’t respected, their individual stories won’t land the same way.

Cutting Fred’s Death Scene Was One Of Deathly Hallows’ Greater Crimes

The Harry Potter Movies Continued To Ignore The Weasley Twins’ Individuality All The Way To Fred’s Death

Like many other Harry Potter fans, I cried the hardest in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Fred Weasley died. I never saw it coming, and the fact that he died while laughing at his own joke made it all the more bitter. Add in Percy Weasley’s screams of regret, and it is still one of the most devastating scenes I have ever read in YA literature. For this reason, I was outraged to see that the Deathly Hallows Part 2 movie stripped the scene away. Instead, Fred’s body was only shown in the Great Hall, and in keeping with the films’ traditions, it wasn’t immediately clear whether it was Fred or George who had died.

By cutting the actual scene in which Fred died, the Harry Potter movies again stripped the twins’ of their individuality. Fred and Percy had been fighting side by side when the corridor unexpectedly exploded, and this was significant since their own relationship was especially contentious. As much as I personally dislike Percy, it was heartwarming to see them actually joking around together, and it felt like a massive step in Fred’s personal arc since George wasn’t even around as this happened. By cutting all this, the Harry Potter movies again cheapened this version of the twins’ characters.

I Hope To See A More Book-Faithful Fred & George In HBO’s Harry Potter Remake

HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Has More Time To Explore Fred & George’s Individual Characters

As frustrated as I was to see that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 cut Fred’s death scene, I understood that such changes are unavoidable in movie adaptations. Sure, the film likely could have cut Harry and Voldemort inexplicably flying around the castle, but that still would have left very little time to give Fred’s final moments the attention he deserved. Of course, HBO’s TV remake of Harry Potter won’t have this problem, so there would be no excuse this time around. Fred’s death scene absolutely must be included, and for it to be as impactful as it should be, the twins’ individuality must be a priority throughout the series.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Fred and George finish each other’s sentences and speak at the same time a time or two in the Harry Potter remake, but HBO’s writers must still treat the duo as individual characters. The TV format means that the Weasley twins’ individuality can be taken even further than in the books, with extra attention drawn to the characteristics that make these two boys unique. Fred and George hold a particularly warm place in my heart, and this is precisely why I must see more book-faithful versions of their characters in the coming series.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did. Upon the announcement of the Harry Potter TV show, the series received harsh criticism for the involvement of Rowling and for many thinking a reboot was unnecessary.