HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Repeats a Key Casting Mistake—Here’s How It Can Be Fixed

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The TV adaptation of Harry Potter on HBO seems to be repeating one of the mistakes made during casting in the movies, but there’s optimism that it can be rectified. Although the Harry Potter films are cherished by many today, they aren’t immune to criticism. There were a few areas where the Warner Bros films fell short, which makes the prospect of a TV reboot interesting because it presents an opportunity to bring more accurate representations of the books to life on screen. However, HBO’s reimagining has had a rocky start in some respects.

Although the debut of Harry Potter season 1 is still some time away, HBO has been generating buzz with regular casting updates. Lately, it was revealed who would be portraying Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley – Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout respectively. So far, they seem well-suited for the roles. Interestingly, unlike Daniel Radcliffe, McLaughlin doesn’t appear to have green eyes, which was a bit unexpected to me.

HBO’s New Harry Potter Actor Doesn’t Have Green Eyes

Dominic McLaughlin Is Another Blue-Eyed Potter

In the iconic Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe beautifully embodied the role of The Boy Who Lived in almost every aspect. However, one minor yet significant inconsistency is that Radcliffe doesn’t have green eyes as described in the Harry Potter books. It’s consistently mentioned in the novels that Harry strongly resembles his father, with the exception of his striking green eyes, which were Lily’s eyes. This shared eye color between mother and son plays a deeply symbolic role in the larger narrative of the story. Regrettably, the actresses who portrayed Lily Evans in the Harry Potter movies had brown eyes, unlike Radcliffe’s blue ones.

In a fresh take on J.K. Rowling’s magical world by HBO, the revamped Harry Potter series was an opportunity to rectify the inconsistent storyline in previous film adaptations. Regrettably, it appears that the new television production is replicating the same past errors, as McLaughlin, the new cast member, also doesn’t have green eyes – a defining characteristic of the book character. Despite the fact that this promising young actor will undoubtedly deliver a stellar performance as Harry Potter, much like Daniel Radcliffe did, it’s somewhat disheartening not to see the essential traits from the written characters being emphasized more. Fortunately, Hollywood has evolved since the initial Harry Potter movies were produced, so there remains a possibility that McLaughlin’s on-screen portrayal will align with the character as described in the books.

Fixing Dominic McLaughlin’s Eye Color Should Be Easier Than It Was For Daniel Radcliffe

TV Magic Is A Little Easier To Pull Off These Days

In the making of the Harry Potter films, the filmmakers couldn’t help but notice Radcliffe’s eye color. Initially, they planned for him to wear green contact lenses when he took on his role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. However, during the early days of shooting, he had an allergic reaction to the contacts. Consequently, it was decided that the on-screen character of Harry would have blue eyes. As the series progressed, characters made comments about Harry and Lily having the same eye color, and it was generally understood that viewers would disregard this discrepancy.

It would be great if McLaughlin doesn’t have the same eye allergy as Radcliffe and that digital technology can be used to make his eyes look green for the ‘Harry Potter’ TV show. While it might not be ideal to ask a young actor to wear contact lenses, finding an alternative is more feasible now than it was in the early 2000s. Although digitally altering McLaughlin’s eyes to appear green may still require effort, this technique is common in fantasy TV productions.

In summary, it might serve Warner Bros well to take note of this situation. At the minimum, the actress chosen for Lily Evans should share McLaughlin’s eye color. While it isn’t strictly book-accurate that Harry and Lily have blue eyes, it would be less jarring for viewers if the actors maintaining this characteristic were consistent with the books, rather than having actors with different colored eyes. Although it appears to be a minor detail, audiences are likely to notice if the Harry Potter remake consistently portrays these characters as having shared eye color, yet the actors clearly do not.

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2025-06-01 23:47