Gary Oldman believes HBO’s forthcoming “Harry Potter” series could be more satisfying for fans than the Warner Bros. films because it will have more room to adapt J.K. Rowling’s books. The comments come from an interview with Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Variety.
Oldman, who played Sirius Black in four films, said the movies had to cut substantial character detail even when some ran close to three hours. He expects the HBO series to follow the books “pretty much word-for-word,” which he said could make the adaptation more rewarding for viewers.
Sirius Black was introduced in 2004’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” Oldman has previously said the character did not receive enough screen time, with only limited appearances in “Goblet of Fire,” “Order of the Phoenix” and “Deathly Hallows Part 2” before Sirius was killed.
HBO’s first season has finished production and is scheduled to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on Dec. 25. The second season, based on the series’ second book, is in pre-production at Leavesden Studios outside London. HBO has not announced its Sirius Black casting.
The new series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, alongside John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
For audiences following casting, awards and major television adaptations, Oldman’s assessment highlights the central promise of HBO’s version: its episodic format may allow more space for supporting characters and storylines that the films had to compress. It remains his prediction, not an independent assessment of the finished series.
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