Former Harry Potter actor Gary Oldman has admitted that he thinks HBO's upcoming TV adaptation will be better than the OG movies.
HBO’s Harry Potter reboot has long since wrapped its first season and will premiere on December 25, 2026. Dominic McLaughlin leads the new cast as Harry, alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, with each season set to adapt one of J.K. Rowling’s seven novels.
John Lithgow plays Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer is Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu is Severus Snape, and Nick Frost is Rubeus Hagrid. Season two, adapting Chamber of Secrets, is already in pre-production – although filming has reportedly been delayed over issues with the scripts – with Kit Harington joining as Gilderoy Lockhart, Lenny Rush as Dobby, and Billy Barratt as Tom Riddle, AKA young Voldemort.
For some fans, the longer TV format offers a chance to restore characters, subplots, and details cut from the films. Others remain wary of recasting such iconic roles and revisiting a story they already consider definitive.
One original Harry Potter star, however, is convinced HBO’s version could actually improve on the movies.
Sirius Black Actor Shares Opinion on TV Show
Gary Oldman has weighed in on HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter adaptation, arguing that one major difference between the TV series and the original films could make the reboot “more satisfying” for fans.
The actor, who played Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies, believes the series will benefit from having far more time to adapt Rowling’s books. “We had to cut a lot, and still we could only get the films down to, like, three hours,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
“I believe [the TV series is] gonna do it pretty much word-for-word, which I think, as a viewer, would be more satisfying,” Oldman added. He also admitted that “a lot of character detail was sacrificed” when the books were condensed for the big screen.
Sirius is one of the clearest examples. The films preserve the main beats of his story, but cut much of the recklessness, anger, and emotional instability seen in the books – particularly during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), when his forced isolation at Grimmauld Place takes an increasingly obvious toll.
His relationship with Harry is also more complicated in the books. Sirius sometimes treats Harry as a stand-in for James Potter, including expressing disappointment when Harry refuses to take the same risks his father would have (leading to a plot point involving a two-way mirror that ended up becoming a massive plothole in the movies). The films largely soften that tension and make their bond more straightforwardly paternal.
The movies also trim Sirius’ history with the Black family, including his rejection of their pure-blood beliefs, his decision to run away from home, and more context around his younger brother, Regulus. Those are exactly the kinds of character details HBO will have significantly more time to restore.
Fans have expressed hopes that the show will similarly expand the character of Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and even Harry himself in the reboot.
HBO has yet to announce who will play Sirius Black, with the actor unlikely to be cast until pre-production begins for its third season, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The same season will also introduce Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Professor Trelawney.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone – which officially drops the alternative Sorcerer's Stone name previously used in the U.S. – will premiere on December 25, 2026.
Do you think the Harry Potter TV series or films will be better?
