If Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films didn’t exist, the Harry Potter movies would be the gold standard of fantasy book adaptations. They do a superb job bringing the Wizarding World to life, which is no small feat, given its scale. The characters are also fleshed out, with the weight on Harry Potter’s shoulders being clear from the start. Fortunately, he has plenty of allies who help him on his journey, and each one is more interesting than the last. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are the standouts, of course, but there are plenty of other great examples, such as Cedric Diggory, Remus Lupin, and Mad-Eye Moody.
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Despite introducing wonderful characters one after another, the Harry Potter movies still have their fair share of frustrating figures. In fact, it has a few that are so beyond repair that the upcoming HBO reboot would be better off just avoiding them altogether.
1) Romilda Vane
Since Harry Potter deals with a group of children growing into adults, crushes and first loves are a big part of the story. However, while most of the awkward teen romance is wholesome, there’s one character that takes things too far: Romilda Vane.
Romilda is a year younger than Harry but obsesses over him due to his status as the “Chosen One.” She tries to slip him a love potion more than once in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but Ron is the one who consumes it. She doesn’t add much to the story other than that, making her an easy candidate to end up on the chopping block.
2) Vincent Crabbe
Draco Malfoy is a stereotypical bully in the first few Harry Potter movies, going after the titular wizard and his friends because he’s jealous of their success. He can’t do it alone, though, so he brings his two friends along for the ride, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe.
Neither one of them makes much of an impact, and at the end of the day, they really aren’t all that different. But what makes Crabbe easier to cut is that he doesn’t even make it through the whole series, as behind-the-scenes issues forced actor Jamie Waylett to sit out the final two movies. His role was filled by Blaise Zabini, who may be a better fit for HBO’s series.
3) Percy Weasley
The Weasley family is full of colorful characters, such as Fred and George, who are always the life of the party. Even the Weasley child who doesn’t appear in the movies, Charlie, still lives a life interesting enough to have an impact on the story. However, Percy Weasley is just a major buzzkill.
Sure, he’s Head Boy at one point, which makes him a big part of the Hogwarts ecosystem, but it’s not like he helps Ron and his friends when it matters the most. Unless the show commits significant time to dealing with Percy’s struggles with believing Harry’s stories about Voldemort, it’s better off just leaving him out of the proceedings.
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4) Moaning Myrtle
Out of all the characters on this list, Moaning Myrtle is the most important to Harry Potter‘s story. She holds vital information about the Chamber of Secrets and helps Harry during the Triwizard Tournament when he’s stuck on a clue. Unfortunately, she’s also really annoying and a bit of a creep.
Whenever Harry is around, Moaning Myrtle lays the flirting on thick, making the young boy uncomfortable as he tries to gather information. Yes, that’s part of her character, as she’s all about keeping people away from her bathroom, but it doesn’t make the scenes she’s in any more tolerable. There are other ways for Harry to collect information that don’t involve visiting the obsessive ghost.
5) Grawp
Hagrid has an interesting backstory because he’s half-human and half-giant. His great size makes him intimidating to people at Hogwarts, including Draco. However, Hagrid’s got nothing on his half-brother, Grawp, who’s an actual giant.
Grawp sort of comes out of nowhere in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and his only real contribution to the movie is helping get rid of Dolores Umbridge in the Forbidden Forest. It’s a satisfying way for the villain to leave Hogwarts, but with TV budgets being tight, it’s a good idea to avoid creating a CGI giant when he’s not all that important.
Do you think the Harry Potter show can work without these characters? Who else do you think could be cut? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image courtesy of Netflix.
