Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer.
Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV.
When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama.
With the upcoming HBO Harry Potter TV series promising a more faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s beloved books, fans of the franchise will finally get to see the characters who were left out of the movies. While the original films were great, they inevitably had to streamline the sprawling narrative by either not including some storylines or cutting out characters who were integral to Harry’s story in one way or another. Now, the series has the opportunity to restore those missing pieces.
So far, HBO has confirmed several characters who will appear in the remake. The golden trio has been cast and will be played by Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger). Other cast members include Nick Frost as Hagrid, the legendary John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, to name a few.
Given that Harry Potter season 1 will focus on the first novel in Rowling’s epic Harry Potter book series, other characters that appear later on in the books, like Professor R.J. Lupin and the hated Professor Dolores Umbridge, are yet to be cast. Still, it's been revealed that a few non-movie characters will appear in the TV show, which plans to chronicle Harry and his friends' full seven years at Hogwarts. (Hopefully, Winky the house elf will make an appearance in the show, too.)
The rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin is legendary, particularly when it comes to the Quidditch matches, with each team trying its hardest to beat the other. While the Slytherin team members, like Graham Montague and Draco Malfoy, are mentioned regularly in the Potter books, others, like Peregrine Derrick, didn’t make it into the films (at least not as a named character).
Derrick is a beater who first appears in the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Like most Slytherin Quidditch players, Derrick is known for playing dirty and aggressively. He is, however, a very minor character who doesn’t even have a backstory — all the more surprising that he's already been cast for season 1 of the show. The HBO series, as a faithful adaptation of the novels, will likely follow the books and keep the Quidditch player simply as a member of the Slytherin team.
Although Nicholas Flamel doesn’t appear in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, his influence shapes the entire first story. Flamel is a brilliant and ancient wizard, famed for being the only known creator of the Philosopher's Stone, a magical object of mythic power. The stone can do two extraordinary things: it can turn any metal into pure gold, and it can produce the Elixir of Life, a potion that grants immortality. Because of this, Flamel and his wife, Perenelle Flamel, have lived for centuries, far beyond a normal human lifespan.
Flamel barely appears directly in the Harry Potter story, but is mentioned when Harry, Ron, and Hermione figure out that the mysterious object Fluffy, the three-headed dog, was guarding was the Philosopher's Stone. In fact, Flamel is only mentioned in passing when Professor Dumbledore tells Harry that the alchemist and his wife have decided to destroy the stone to prevent Voldemort from getting his hands on it. However, the character does have a much bigger role in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
The first book in the Harry Potter franchise is named after Flamel's most famous creation, so it makes sense that he will finally have a chance in the spotlight in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone TV adaptation. Since Harry doesn’t meet Flamel in the books, the alchemists' appearance in the series will likely be linked to Dumbledore, either in the present day or in a flashback.
Perenelle Flamel isn’t really an important figure in the Harry Potter world. In the wizarding world, Perenelle is best known as the devoted wife and magical partner of Nicolas Flamel, the only known creator of the Philosopher’s Stone. Thanks to the elixir brewed from the magical stone, Perenelle and Nicolas survived for over six centuries.
HBO is already proving that its Harry Potter TV show won't simply remake the movies. Just a 2-minute clip comes with several brand-new scenes.
What makes Perenelle more interesting than just being Nicholas Flamel’s wife is that she wasn’t a passive companion. In the lore, she is described as a “witch of considerable ability and intelligence,” someone who shared in Flamel’s alchemical work and helped guard the stone's secrets. Much like her husband, Perenelle is likely to have a small role in TV's Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as she doesn’t have a backstory in the novels — unless HBO is making a major change, that is.
Professor Cuthbert Binns is the ghostly instructor of History of Magic at Hogwarts. Legend has it that Binns was such a dedicated (or perhaps painfully dull) academic that one day he fell asleep in the staff room by the fire and never woke up. Instead of moving on to the afterlife, his ghost casually got up, left his body behind, and drifted into his classroom to continue lecturing as if nothing had happened.
History of Magic is probably one of the most fascinating subjects at Hogwarts, but it is incredibly boring in Professor Binns’ ghostly hands. The Hogwarts teacher didn’t have a major role in the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but does have one in the second entry, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as he explains the origins of the titular Chamber.
Compared to the other members of the Weasley family, Charlie didn’t have as big a role in the books — he was off chasing dragons in Romania. The first time he is really part of the narrative is in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when he brings the dragons that Harry and the rest of the Triwizard Champions are forced to face in the competition.
Even with his limited time in the books, it didn’t make sense that Charlie wasn’t in the Potter movies, more so because of how big a part the Weasleys play in Harry's life. The red-haired family felt incomplete without Charlie, and thankfully, the series will include the Weasleys’ second-oldest child. Following the events in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Voldemort's rise, Charlie plays a huge role in the Order of the Phoenix and the Battle of Hogwarts.
HBO still hasn’t announced who will be playing Charlie. All we know so far is that he will have a role in the upcoming fantasy TV show, as an Instagram post introducing other members of the Weasley family was captioned with "Charlie's in Romania at the moment but will be joining us soon." If the show follows the books, he'll most likely debut in season 4, The Goblet of Fire, since he doesn’t appear in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and is only mentioned in the film.
Famous for causing mayhem all over the hallways of Hogwarts, Peeves the Poltergeist is a huge part of the magical school. Unlike the more reserved spirits who haunt Hogwarts, Peeves exists purely to cause mischief, noise, and get on the nerves of both students and teachers. Surprisingly, he didn’t appear in the movies, a major disappointment for book fans who were hoping to see Peeves cause a little chaos.
Interestingly, Peeves was originally cast for the Harry Potter movies. The late Rik Mayall was offered the role, but his scenes were cut from the final version of the first movie. HBO's Harry Potter series will finally remedy that mistake and has already cast the fan-favorite character, with British comedian and actor Peter Serafinowicz taking on the part instead. Serafinowicz is known for his roles in Guardians of the Galaxy, Spy, and Netflix's The Gentlemen.
Harry Potter is HBO's adatation of the iconic Wizarding World book series tby J.K. Rowling. The first season, The Philosopher's Stone, follows the titular Harry Potter as he discovers his magical potential, enrolls at Hogwarts, and begins to uncover a sinister force.
