What to expect from Harry Potter “Return to Hogwarts”
Growing up, Harry Potter was a big part of my childhood. Sounds quite clichéd, seeing as most of my generation grew up with both the books and the movies. However, in recent years, many fans have divulged away from the series, even growing so far as to loathe it for what it has become.
Everything from commercially milking the Harry Potter universe for relevance to controversial opinions on human rights, JK Rowling has perhaps made it hard for fans to, well, continue being fans. In fact, that is possibly what has happened to me too.
So, while I might no longer be the target audience for the upcoming retrospective special on HBO Max, as a former fan, there are certain things that I hope to see from this reunion.
The cast's experience
When you think about the fact that many of these kids grew up together over the course of eight movies, it sounds like a wildly bizarre concept. If this wasn't crazy enough, the movies launched the acting careers of some of these actors, and in many ways changed the trajectory of their lives.
That is why it would be interesting to hear about their experience on set, how their lives changed as a result of the movies, how much real life friendship is behind the characters we see on screen and so on and so forth.
A tour of Hogwarts
If anyone can go all in, it's HBO and they should definitely go back to the original shooting locations and let the cast give a tour of Hogwarts and showcase their favourite sets inside the castle.
They should also give a proper tour of the grounds and the actual location, just so we can finally picture how the real shooting location for Hogwarts actually looked like. And who wouldn't enjoy a star-studded game of Quidditch?
Tributes
Finally, I think the cast should pay tribute to those of the cast who are no longer with us. And no, I don't want them to pay tribute to just the characters, but to the actors who were there when the cameras stopped rolling.
The most notable actor that will jump to the forefront of everyone's mind is definitely Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), but Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley), John Hurt (Mr Ollivander), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) were all important members of the cast who passed away, and their lives should be memorialised in some form through the reunion.
While some fans may want a more Harry Potter themed get-together, I think the more ideal episode highlights the cast who made the movies what they are. The magical world of Harry Potter, at the end of the day, will be a part of many of our lives, irrespective of the personal legacy of the author.
As Daniel Radcliffe, who will forever known as "The Boy Who Lived", so eloquently put it, "If you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life — then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred."