Trying to turn hundreds of pages into just a few hours of moving images can be a tricky task and one that can often result in entire storylines being cut. This doesn't usually change the outcome of the movie, nor does it drastically alter the journey taken to get there, but it can sometimes introduce plotholes or unanswered questions for those who never read the books.
Harry Potter: The Darkest Things To Ever Happen In Hogwarts
Although Hogwarts is a safe place under normal circumstances, several grisly events have transpired throughout its long history.
Despite being split into two separate two-and-a-half-hour movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows suffered this fate, with numerous plot lines and story beats never making it into the big screen adaptations. Many of these omissions were fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but there were a handful of important storylines that really should have been included in the Harry Potter movies in some capacity.
1 Dudley's Redemption
Following his encounter with the Dementors at the beginning of The Half-Blood Prince, Dudley's attitude toward Harry changes quite a bit. Initially, Harry wonders whether his cousin might just be messing with him when he starts leaving cups of tea outside his bedroom door, but it soon becomes clear that this isn't the case.
As the Dursleys prepare to leave number four Privet Drive ahead of Harry's seventeenth birthday, Dudley shows genuine concern for Harry's safety. Some will perhaps argue that a few cold cups of tea and a moment of compassion don't come close to making up for almost two decades of torture, but others will feel as though the movies did Dudley dirty in this regard.
2 Kreacher's Redemption
Dudley wasn't the only character whose redemption arc never made it into the movies. In fact, his wasn't even the most significant. Kreacher's about turn and eventual acceptance of Harry as his new master was significant not only to his own personal development, but also to Harry's, who, in the books, at least, was able to forgive Kreacher for the role that he played in Sirius' death (a storyline which was also cut from the movies).
Kreacher's redemption arc also ties in with another cut storyline that sees Hermione form an organization to promote the rights of house elves known as SPEW. The bitter little house elf's change of heart proves that Hermione was right all along and raises the question as to whether Kreacher would have betrayed Sirius in the first place had he treated the house elf with just a modicum of respect.
3 Snape's Secret
One character whose redemption arc does make it into the movies is that of Severus Snape, though, in the movies, Voldemort never finds out where Snape's loyalties truly lie before his eventual death. In fact, Snape's secret very nearly dies with Harry, who wanders off into the woods to die without telling a soul about the countless sacrifices made by the former Potions Master.
Harry Potter: The 12 Most Powerful Characters In The Lore
There have been some incredibly powerful witches and wizards throughout the history of the Harry Potter universe. These are the strongest of all time.
In the book, Harry tells Ron and Hermione what he saw in the Pensieve after Voldemort has been defeated, but this conversation didn't make it into the movies. Harry also fails to tell Neville to kill Nagini before confronting Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. He does so in the book on the logic that three people will still be aware of Voldemort's secret even after his death.
4 Phineas Black's Portrait
Phineas Nigellus Black was a former Hogwarts Headmaster with portraits at both the iconic wizarding school and number 12 Grimmauld Place. In the book, Hermione takes the portrait from the latter and places it in her bag so that she can continue to seek Black's advice whenever needed. As a result, he ends up playing a key role in proceedings.
As book readers will already know, Black hears Hermione mention to Harry and Ron that they're in the Forest of Dean and relays this information to Snape via his portrait in the headmaster's office. This is how Snape is able to find Harry and deliver the Sword of Gryffindor, yet, in the movies, it's never explained how Snape knows where to look. As far as Harry Potter plotholes go, this is a pretty big one, but it's not quite the biggest.
5 Sirius' Two-Way Mirror
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius gives Harry a two-way mirror that allows the pair to communicate over long distances. For whatever reason, this mirror was cut from the movie adaptation, but a broken shard of it does make it into both Deathly Hallows flicks, with Harry seen looking into the mirror multiple times throughout the course of the two movies.
Harry Potter: The 7 Saddest Deaths in the Franchise, Ranked
The saddest Harry Potter deaths left a lasting impression, forcing fans to face the sad reality that all good things must eventually come to an end.
Were it not for this mirror, Aberforth would never have known that Harry and his friends were trapped inside Malfoy Manor and would thus have never sent Dobby to rescue them. As such, the decision not to explain how Harry came to be in possession of the mirror in the movies seems like a bit of a strange one given that he and his friends would almost certainly have died without it.
6 The Fate of the Elder Wand
At the end of the second Deathly Hallows movie, Harry Snaps the Elder Wand in half. In the books though, Harry decides to return the wand to Dumbledore's tomb, working on the logic that when he dies a natural death, the wand's power will die with him. Ultimately, the fate of the Elder Wand remains the same, but there is one key difference that the movies completely gloss over.
In the book, Harry uses the Elder Wand to repair his original wand, which makes the decision to get rid of the Elder Wand considerably easier. However, as this little detail was cut from the movie, he presumably ends up wandless, as it is impossible to repair a broken wand by any other means. Ollivander certainly seems to think so anyway, and with the only other known wand maker (Gregorovitch) slain by Voldemort, it's difficult to see how else Harry could ever hope to repair his broken wand.
7 Dumbledore's Dark Past
Despite his death at the end of the sixth movie, Dumbledore still plays an important role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, albeit, indirectly. He helps Harry and his friends learn the truth about the titular artifacts and shows up to greet Harry after the piece of Voldemort's soul that had once lived within him is destroyed. However, in the book, he plays a much larger role.
Despite being touched upon at Bill and Fleur's wedding, Rita Skita's expose of Dumbledore is never really explored in either of the movies. In the book though, it causes Harry to question whether he really knew Dumbledore at all, while also painting the former headmaster in a not-so-flattering light. It explores the fate of Dumbledore's sister Ariana too, a character who shows up in the second Deathly Hallows movie without ever being properly introduced.
Harry Potter
- Created by
- J.K. Rowling
- Cast
- Daniel Radcliffe , Emma Watson , Rupert Grint , Alan Rickman , Michael Gambon , Ralph Fiennes , Maggie Smith , Robbie Coltrane
- Where to watch
- HBO Max