There's 1 Way HBO's Harry Potter Remake Can Make Philosopher's Stone & Chamber Of Secrets So Much Better

HBO’s Harry Potter remake will face some struggles when adapting the first two books, but there is a way that these stories could be made so much better. The upcoming reboot had promoted itself as a book-faithful screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s seven books, but even with a longer format, this will be no easy task. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are unique among the books because of their more simplistic stories and younger target audience. However, there’s a potential solution.

While the Harry Potter movies are still beloved today, their shorter format means that much of the story was left out. This is why HBO’s TV reboot has so much potential. The series will dedicate entire seasons to each of Rowling’s Harry Potter books, with the first expected to begin streaming on Max in 2026. It’s a chance to really dive into the nitty gritty of Harry’s story without the need to overly simplify as Warner Bros’ movies did. However, since the more complex aspects of Harry Potter don’t begin until about the third book, HBO may have a hard time getting the ball rolling.

The Harry Potter Remake Will Face Several Challenges The First Couple Seasons

It Will Be Hardest To Improve On The Philosopher’s Stone & Chamber Of Secrets Movies

The first two Harry Potter movies did the best job of including all the major moments of the plot, and this is because the Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets books were the shortest and simplest of the series. Since the greatest benefit of HBO’s remake is a chance to include all the plot points that the movies missed, it will take several years before the TV remake’s efforts really become worth it. It won’t be until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is adapted, likely around 2028, that the stories the movies missed will hit the screen at long last.

To make matters even trickier, Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets are less mature, in general, since they are aimed at a much younger audience. The Harry Potter books are meant to grow with their readers, but this could be a problem for HBO. A significant portion of the TV show’s audience will be adult fans who are already very familiar with the story. Sitting through two years of something already adequately adapted may be a struggle. HBO will have to find a way to make these first installments worth it or risk falling apart before it can really dive into the more complex aspects of the plot.

Professor Dumbledore’s POV Would Be Valuable In Philosopher’s Stone & Chamber Of Secrets

The Best Way To Age Up The Earlier Installments Of Harry Potter Is Through Other Characters’ Perspectives

Part of why Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets feel so much younger compared to the rest of the series (aside from following a younger protagonist) is that a great deal doesn’t make much sense. It’s strange that Harry and his friends, who barely knew anything about magic, were able to get past the Philosopher’s Stone’s protections when they were meant to be impervious. Then, it’s odd that they were the only ones to figure out the location and contents of the Chamber of Secrets when it had been a mystery to adult wizards for centuries.

The problems with these stories are meant to be overlooked since Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets are whimsical children’s literature at its finest. Kids are supposed to be the cleverest in the story, while all the adults are clueless. However, there’s an effective way that HBO could age up these stories to make them work for the longer format of a TV show—add in an adult point of view. In the case of the first two Harry Potter books, the most effective POV would be Albus Dumbledore since he is something of a puppet master throughout the series.

Adding in Dumbledore’s perspective in the Harry Potter TV remake would explain why the Golden Trio were left to handle all Hogwarts’ mysteries on their own. Some additional focus on the headmaster could reveal that Dumbledore purposely made the protections surrounding the Philosopher’s Stone easy to get past (aside from the Mirror of Erised) to give Harry a chance to confront Voldemort. Additionally, it could reveal that Dumbledore knew where the Chamber of Secrets was but wanted to further allow Harry to test his strength and see where destiny would take him.

HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Can Use Multiple POVs Throughout The Series

A TV Show Has More Time To Bring Important Moments To The Screen (Not Just Talk About Them)

Seeing Dumbledore’s planning and curiosity about the Boy Who Lived in Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secretswould throw the doors open to a piece of the story that Harry Potter fans have never seen before, thus making the first two seasons of HBO’s TV remake more interesting. Of course, there are ways that stepping outside of only Harry’s POV could be valuable throughout the rest of the series as well. The long format of a TV show means plenty of opportunity to dive deeper into the lives of several important and popular Harry Potter characters.

HBO’s Harry Potter TV remake could explore the Marauders’ story on screen when season 3 adapts Prisoner of Azkaban, showing rather than telling about the days Harry’s father was at school with his friends. Season 4 could dedicate an episode to Barty Crouch Jr’s Goblet of Fire story, giving audiences a look at his mother’s sacrifice to break him out of prison from the character’s own point of view. The possibilities go on and on. The Harry Potter TV show will have the time and resources to cover canon events outside of Harry’s perspective, and it’s precisely this that makes the coming remake so valuable.

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.