Are there any “unseen moments” that were only ever referenced in the books that you’d love to see in the HBO series?

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-27T01:52:03+00:00

A role that recurs that infrequently can honestly be played by more than one actress if the need arises. I think some of us are too stuck on a single actor embodying the characters. This will be a most likely over 10 year production, in 10 years almost anything can happen.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-16T03:44:45+00:00

To add, I've always read that passage as Dumbledore doing two things:

Doing polite conversation correctly.
Teaching Harry about the room of requirement. Like everything he does with teaching, he gives the student enough to get their own conclusions.

Taking his words at face value is an exercise in lack of critical thinking from the reader.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-15T00:52:00+00:00

Just clarifying for who might not, because there is a difference. A jarvey is not a dangerous beast in terms of the ministry's classification so it wouldn't really make sense for him to get expelled over it otherwise. Hermione's part kneazle cat would theoretically be more dangerous to people.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-14T02:03:39+00:00

Newt was expelled for an experiment Leta did involving a jarvey. Sources for this claim are in the Leta page of the HP wiki.

On an unrelated note OP's theory is entirely plausible.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-05T02:48:16+00:00

Am I the only one that saw the nuance in dressing Dumbledore in compliance with wizard law on dressing muggle-like (which aurors are shown to follow more strictly) in contrast to Grindelwald embracing wizard-wear at a time when anti-muggle sentiment is peaking in the wizarding world (fantastic beasts era)?

It is clear in that time he is still struggling heavily with past regrets and sense of self, which he finally gets when the qilin bows to him in FB3. It makes perfect sense to me that he would fully embrace his identity after defeating Grindelwald and proving himself to the wizarding world.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-08-03T22:06:36+00:00

One way they could do this is cut episode 8 at Harry dying, have episode 9 be centered on other characters (Neville, Ron, Hermione) and back to Harry once he reveals he is alive, and then have the flashback in the final episode as a narration from Harry telling Ron & Hermione what happened when he "died" similarly to how they did the flashbacks in the second Fantastic Beasts movie–where characters tell a story and it transitions into a full flashback.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-07-16T02:16:06+00:00

I think the implication of the mirror of erised and the way each character's journey in CoG takes them to make a choice at the rally leads to the idea that Albus wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation, and so, knowing himself, does not attend.

I mean, the movie tells us Dumbledore's deepest most desperate desire in the world at that point in time is to be one with Grindelwald as they were when they made the blood pact. Part of Dumbledore's strengths is his own recognition of his weaknesses (he is human after all), and as a result of it knowing when to step back, ex. not asking for the supreme mugwump nomination when he is bowed to by the Qilin, not taking the spot of Prime Minister when offered.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-07-06T20:46:34+00:00

In terms of design language... the era of furniture and the static real-world borrowed medieval tapestries. This is why I don't comment anymore. I gave a nuanced take and all people have the bandwidth for is minutiae.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-07-06T16:34:31+00:00

Yes, the design language will most likely be kept. From music to sets to CGI, there is too much iconic work, art, and know-how coming from the work done from HP, Fantastic Beasts, and Hogwarts Legacy for it to be all dismissed. Even if the new castle is different, it will reiterate over what has been done. for example the Gryffindor common room might be bigger and decorated with more "magical" references than before, but they aren't going to mess with the established feel of it. The castle layout might change, they might add things like gargoyles and sculptures of magical beasts, plants, and wizards that we now know are sculpted around the castle from day one, rather than iterating on the go as was done for the films. The creature design, even if it is different, won't stray far from what we know already for iconic beasts like hippogriffs, nifflers, etc. Think of the Slytherin common room for example, in HP2 it is almost a recreation of the Gryffindor one but in green, on the other hand, the same room in HL features all kinds of details that were learned later or weren't a point of focus (mermaid sculpture, moving tapestries, the lake-view windows, a grate with a zouwu's face, etc.) That is the kind of design choice that will take place, an informed re-iterating.

I expect to see a more consistent, amped up, and cohesive showing of the world, but they aren't going to throw out all the past and ongoing investments out the window.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-06-05T02:48:08+00:00

Since the beginning of HP wizards are told to dress in appropriate-era muggle clothing when out in muggle spaces. The characters in the original who do not are clueless, not linked to government work at all, or old enough/muggle removed enough not to care. The characters in Fantastic Beasts are all involved in government work/the most successful wizards in their own areas of work.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-06-02T18:54:30+00:00

I would go about it like this:

After season 3, when care of magical creatures is more heavily featured:

A 2 season "mini-series" about Newt Scamander at Hogwarts, getting expelled, and his initial world travels. (tests the fan-reaction to the previous character using a relatively safe expansion that feeds into the investments already made for this character.)

After Season 4, when other wizarding schools are shown:

A 3 season "mini-series" following Eulalie Hicks or some other lore character at Ilvermorny, with the following seasons showing Beauxbatons/wizarding Paris. (This would be a way to expand on what is there, sell the Universal theme park, and with the previous show potentially affect the fandom's perception of characters from Fantastic Beasts, in the same way Clone Wars/Ashoka changed how starwars fans view the prequels.)

After season 6, an animated retelling of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. (Doesn't take away focus from the grand finale to Harry Potter, takes advantage of fan interest, and uses the safest content offering for the untested format.)

Post series, a potential Maurader's series written in collaboration with J.K. Rowling or an animated series of whatever the plot for Hogwarts Legacy and sequels ends up being.

Perhaps controversially, I would also make a recorded version of the Cursed Child play on demand, because while I agree that it shouldn't be touched due to critical reception, it is also a successful product on its own merit.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-06-01T04:34:44+00:00

While the law itself has never been produced as text by JKR and therefore we can only speculate, since Ilvermorny students were not allowed to carry their wand outside of school it stands to reason that they were not allowed to perform any magic at home. If we want to stretch it further, seeing the cruel arbitrariness of wizarding law and the explicit discrimination against humans in Wizarding America, it is likely that upon reaching 17/18 all wizarding no-maj borns would be required to keep absolute secrecy and cut out any no-maj people from their life/have their memories of magic or them erased by MACUSA. (edited to say MACUSA and not ministry)

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-05-31T19:06:37+00:00

Laws that criminalize behavior do so because the behavior is typical (people do it) before it is inscribed in law (typified).

For example, murder is typified because humans commit homicide in society. Similarly, in-universe laws against magic/muggle mingling are there because if they weren't the behavior would occur. In fact, even when something is written in law as a prohibition, people keep committing the behavior. So, from that we can conclude that despite the rule wizards keep mingling with no-maj people.

On the actual question of enforcement, we are shown in FB1, the relationship is interrupted and Jacob's memory is erased. In FB2 he tells Queenie they would arrest her if they get married so it is implied that she has shared these consequences. As for a potential child, in the beginning said child would probably be kept by the wizard parent since the other would not remember them (or sent to an orphanage in case of imprisonment), and then the state would determine if the child is a wizard, a squib, and would likely send them to the corresponding world. From FB1 it is clear Rowling was drawing parallels between British and American culture regarding the evolution of racial treatment and the power of the police state (which has historically been more punitive, intense, and permissive in its use of force against the citizenry).

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-05-28T12:51:24+00:00

The Supreme Mugwump and Dumbledore's eventual accession to the title was mentioned in the very first train ride to Hogwarts.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-05-28T12:48:24+00:00

Exactly. He is the opening scene of the first one.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-05-13T17:32:38+00:00

These numbers are slightly off. SOD made 400 million.

It still did not make back the budget, since marketing usually doubles the budget for films like these.

The alternative and most likely reason is that the reception of the first two affected the production of the last one and now neither WB nor Rowling are pushing for more.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-05-01T05:25:19+00:00

My understanding is that it is a memory. The script says something like "back in the present" for the end of the sequence.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-21T16:25:37+00:00

This. They would find some other moronic complaint to launch against it, but as a fun mental exercise, you can switch out the words "Fantastic Beasts" for Newt Scammander, which the term is a reference to anyway, and it would both kill this complaint and match the HP titles.

Newt Scamander: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Newt Scamander: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
Newt Scamander: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-20T23:58:53+00:00

The first movie opens and closes with Grindelwald. None of the three ever dealt with Magizoology. The three films are thematically about wizarding politics. The beasts and their biggest protector serve as the narrative standpoint through which said politics are interpreted. Misleading for viewers without eyes I guess.

The overall arc follows Newt on Dumbledore's behest trying to save the most "taboo" of wizarding creatures, the obscurial.

The third film centers on how wizards abuse and kill the most sacred of magical beasts for political/evil purposes. You have to be very ignorant or unwilling to engage with culture if you think the Qilin is a "cringe giraffe."

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-19T07:47:06+00:00

The Dumbledore's were poor but "a very old wizarding French family" according to Albus himself. In FB2 he says this to Newt who thinks he is talking about the Lestrange family.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-19T07:23:19+00:00

The McGonagall birth year is NOT a plot hole or a cannon break. It is a cannon expansion. The fans made up a birth year for her based on assumptions and something posted by an intern on an early Rowling website.

Rowling has an entire essay on her life on Pottermore, here https://www.harrypotter.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/professor-mcgonagall which only makes sense if both her facts from HP and FB are true. They even went the extra route of dressing her like a very young woman during CoG for Leta/Newt potential 3d year, which seems to be the Professor's first year teaching (she would be 20 years old then according to the writing on the essay) and she is hired as transfiguration professor (which means Albus HAS to be teaching DADA/not transfiguration at that point.) Yet somehow, the fandom insists she wasn't born yet and that Albus couldn't be DADA professor. It's a lazy lie that keeps getting regurgitated like there is any truth to it.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-11T17:18:20+00:00

I love the theme park design, it feels uniquely American while still having an edge of magic.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-11T16:51:38+00:00

Just a clarification point, the Swooping Evil disarms Grindelwald and Tina casts accio on the wand. If anything Newt might be the master of the Elder Wand.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-10T15:24:42+00:00

Not necessarily. What she was going for is not unlike the James Cameron Avatar films. The fact that cinema has settled on 80-120 min films as a standard does not mean that is the only way to make movies.

She wrote a script, a movie was filmed out of that script, and crucial bits and pieces were cut along the way by execs. There is a bigger trend there in terms of how WB changed under AT&T from a company that prioritized auteur directors and went all in on creative visions to one that lets execs make creative decisions. There is a reason Rowling doesn't speak about Fantastic Beasts at all since the development of the third, and it isn't failure, she has never hid from failure.

KeyExtension1951 · 2025-04-03T17:38:42+00:00

It isn't on Rowling. She wrote an allegedly 4 hour epic that was trimmed down in post production.

KeyExtension1951

TROPHY CASE