The upcoming “Harry Potter” TV series on HBO should have a lot more time to cover each of the seven books, and so far, it seems to be taking full advantage of that. For instance, Ron Weasley’s brother, Charlie Weasley, has already been cast. Charlie, who will be played by Harry Gilby, was cut from the films due to time constraints. Peter Serafinowicz of “The Tick” fame has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist, a fan-favorite minor character also cut from the movies.
Most of the casting choices announced have only concerned the first two books in the series. When it comes to the remaining five books, there are still plenty of questions up in the air. Here are five “Harry Potter” characters who we hope get their time to shine in the HBO TV show.
Winky the House Elf
The movie adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” includes Barty Crouch Sr. (Roger Lloyd Pack), but not Barty’s unfortunate house elf Winky. Winky is an elf who has fully bought into the idea that her rightful place in the world is as a wizard’s slave; after Barty frees her as a punishment, Winky succumbs to alcoholism and self-pity.
Hermione Granger tries to convince Winky that it’s good to be free, that she shouldn’t think so highly of her former master, but Winky doesn’t budge. It’s a deeply uncomfortable subplot, perhaps the most controversial story choice in all of the books, but it does provide some fascinating insight into the dark side of the wizarding world. Winky shows that Voldemort is hardly the only problem with wizard society, that bigotry and exploitation can thrive even without the Dark Lord around.
The “Harry Potter” show can explore Winky’s internalized bigotry and Hermione’s resulting attempt to free the elves by starting the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. No one knows what the show will do yet, but one thing’s clear: House elves play a major role in “Goblet of Fire,” so they should definitely be included in Season 4 of the show.
Augusta Longbottom
The movies did justice to Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), the awkward boy who grows into a brave, charming hero. They did not, however, do justice to his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. Augusta is never a major presence in the books, but Harry does meet her in person on several occasions and gets to witness how she treats Neville. Augusta is a loving grandmother but she’s a little too blunt and dismissive — to the point where it seems like she’s a major factor in Neville starting off as nervous as he does.
The movies actually did cast an actor for Augusta: Leila Hoffman, who appears in a blink-and-you-miss-it scene in the first movie, and Ninette Finch, who stars in a deleted scene in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Neither of these really count, however, as the movies never give Augusta enough time to make an impression. Given how important Neville turns out to be, Augusta should be given a little more of a spotlight in the show.
Ludo Bagman
The movie adaptation of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was forced, by the sheer length and complexity of its source material, to cut a lot of characters and massively streamline the story. The result is that Ludovic “Ludo” Bagman, the head of the Ministry’s Department of Magical Games and Sports, was cut entirely.
The choice makes sense; the movie was already confusing enough to non-readers even with the streamlined plot. Still, it’ll be fun to see the TV show make use of Bagman since he’s one of the more colorful characters from the novel. Bagman has a subplot where he gets into severe gambling debt and has to go on the run to evade some goblin loan sharks.
Bagman’s gambling troubles also get him into a feud with the Weasley twins, which makes for yet another strong argument to include him in an adaptation. More screen time for Bagman means more screen time for Fred and George, and no fan could possibly have a problem with that.
Professor Binns
Professor Binns is teaches history at Hogwarts, and he also happens to be a ghost. Binns used to be a living teacher, until one day he died and went to class as usual in his new form. Having a ghost as a professor sounds cool, but Binns’ teaching style is so boring that the novelty wears off fast.
Binns is never that important in the books, with the exception of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” where the kids ask him to explain the titular chamber’s history. The movie adaptation takes Binns’ only big scene, however, and hands it over to Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith). It makes sense for the adaptation to give the scene to someone already established in the film, but it’s still a shame that the movies deny Binns his most important moment.
In the books, Binns can also be read as a subtle critique of the wizarding world’s lack of self-examination. They say those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and through Binns, it’s established that Hogwarts’ only history teacher is an incompetent bore. Binns is reflective of the wizarding world’s general disdain for learning about their own history, which might be why they’ve let so many dark lords wreak so much havoc over the years.
Regulus Black
Regulus Black is the tragic brother of fan-favorite character Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who was once a devout follower of Lord Voldemort before changing his mind. The movies reference Regulus but never show any flashback to him. He does technically appear, showing up briefly in a photograph and played by Tom Moorcroft, but it’s hardly a fleshed-out role.
The books are also pretty sparing when it comes to Regulus, but Harry does at least get to see an old moving photograph of him. And although the books are mostly limited to Harry’s point of view, one can’t help but note that Regulus’ backstory — in which he steals one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and sacrifices his life in the process — is incredibly cinematic.
A flashback to that moment would make for a great cold open action sequence, one that only a TV show would have the time to pull off. Casting Regulus and giving him his moment in the spotlight would be perhaps the boldest adaptive choice proposed on this list, but it definitely seems worth the effort.
The “Harry Potter” series airs its first episode December 25, 2026 on HBO, and will be available on streaming at HBO Max.
