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Credit: Warner Bros.The Harry Potter franchise is heading back to the small screen with HBO’s upcoming television series. But while the project has been billed as a more “faithful adaptation” of J.K. Rowling’s seven novels, a recent casting announcement sparks an interesting possibility.
Warwick Davis, who portrayed Professor Filius Flitwick in the original film series, is confirmed to be reprising his role in the reboot. But that news now has us asking: Is the new Harry Potter series actually set in a Wizarding World Multiverse?
The Time-Turner Could Be the Key to Connecting the TV Series and the Films
On paper, Davis’ return might seem like simple nostalgia-driven casting, but given that HBO is otherwise building its series from scratch with a brand-new ensemble, Flitwick’s familiar face raises questions. Could the series be more than just a page-for-page retelling?
Could it be a parallel universe where some elements bleed over from the films? The idea isn’t without precedent. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban introduced one of the franchise’s most powerful magical devices — the Time-Turner.
Its use by Hermione Granger essentially creates overlapping timelines within the story, and fans have long debated whether this cracked open the door to alternate realities within the Wizarding World. If HBO wanted to lean into the concept, it would offer a clever explanation for how certain actors (like Davis) could return while the rest of the cast is new.
Related: ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series WON’T Replace the Films, Will Acknowledge Them as Canon, WB Confirms
The Multiverse Could Pave the Way for More Harry Potter Legacy Actors
A Multiverse approach would also have the benefit of tying other Wizarding World projects together. The hit video game “Hogwarts Legacy”, set a century before Harry Potter’s adventures, has already been embraced by fans as a sort of “alternate canon.”
Acknowledging parallel universes would allow the game to coexist with both the films and the HBO series, essentially binding everything together seamlessly.
Some Harry Potter Actors Will NEVER Return
This approach could also pave the way for more returning actors in strictly cameo roles (especially now that almost everyone has been recast). But with that said, some actors are unlikely to return — namely Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who have publicly distanced themselves from J.K. Rowling due to her divisive views on transgender people.
Recently, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) director Chris Columbus told The Times U.K., that a reunion involving the full cast from the films is “impossible.” He said, “It’s never going to happen. It’s gotten so complicated with all the political stuff. Everyone in the cast has their own opinion, which is different from her [Rowling’s] opinion, which makes it impossible.”
The Multiverse Formula Is Still Popular
Either way, beyond Harry Potter, audiences are no strangers to Multiverses. Marvel and DC have built billion-dollar franchises around the idea, while properties like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and even Terminator have explored similar narrative tricks.
It’s a proven crowd-pleaser, and one that might just help HBO win over skeptical older fans by keeping the original films “canon” while still delivering something fresh.
Whether or not HBO will adopt the Multiverse concept remains to be seen, but Warwick Davis’s return has cracked open a fascinating possibility: the Harry Potter reboot might not just be a retelling, but the beginning of something much bigger.
HBO’s Harry Potter cast includes John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid), Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), Katherine Parkinson (Molly Weasley), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley), Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Paul Whitehouse (Argus Filch), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), Luke Thallon (Quirinus Quirrell), Leigh Gill (Griphook), and Lox Pratt (Draco Malfoy).
The Harry Potter series will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max.
Do you think the Harry Potter television series will take place in the Wizarding World Multiverse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!