MAX These 'Order of the Phoenix' Book Scenes, HBO!

Summary

MuggleCast: MAX These 'Order of the Phoenix' Book Scenes, HBO! Episode Summary

Release Date: July 8, 2025

In this bonus episode of MuggleCast: The Harry Potter Re-Read Podcast, hosts Andrew, Nicole, Laura, and Micah delve into their creative visions for the upcoming HBO Max adaptation of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." Released amidst the holiday break, this episode focuses on identifying and expanding key scenes from the book that were omitted from the film adaptation, aiming to enhance the depth and richness of the TV series.

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1. Introduction to the Bonus Episode

Laura opens the episode by explaining the theme: exploring book scenes that deserve a place in the HBO Max series. She highlights their ongoing chapter-by-chapter re-read and teases the discussion on how these scenes can enrich the adaptation.

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2. Harry’s Interview with Rita Skeeter

Andrew kicks off the discussion by emphasizing the significance of Harry’s interview with Rita Skeeter. He suggests that this moment is pivotal for showcasing Harry’s emotional turmoil and providing a platform for him to articulate his struggles to the wizarding world.

Andrew [02:22]: "The moment from Order of the Phoenix that I really want to see in the TV show is Harry's Quibbler interview with Rita Skeeter. It's the first time Harry really gets to share his full story with the wizarding world in a way that incentivizes people to pay attention."

Laura builds on this by highlighting Hermione’s role in blackmailing Rita, adding layers to Hermione’s character development.

Laura [05:59]: "Hermione blackmailing Rita into writing this. So it's great character development for Hermione as well."

Andrew further elaborates on the visual and narrative contrasts between this scene and the earlier DA meeting, advocating for a setting at the Three Broomsticks to reflect Hermione’s growing wisdom and strategic thinking.

Andrew [05:39]: "Setting the meeting at the Three Broomsticks, where it's presumably warm, noisy, busy, and just an easy place to be working in plain sight."

The hosts discuss potential casting choices, with Andrew passionately advocating for Parker Posey as Rita Skeeter, believing her eccentricity would perfectly capture Rita’s character.

Andrew [06:59]: "I really think Parker Posey would knock this character out of the park. She's so over the top and eccentric."

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3. Inclusion of Quidditch in the Adaptation

Nicole shifts the focus to the Quidditch Season, noting its omission from the fifth movie as a missed opportunity to develop characters, especially Ginny Weasley.

Nicole [11:19]: "Quidditch is probably the best outlet they're gonna have to flesh Ginny's character out more than she got in the books or in the movies."

Andrew concurs, expressing a desire to see more Quidditch scenes to enhance character development and add excitement.

Andrew [12:04]: "I find Ginny, unfortunately, to be one of the least interesting characters because we just don't learn a lot about her."

Laura adds that fan demand for Quidditch is evident from the reception of games like Hogwarts Legacy, where the absence of Quidditch gameplay was a point of contention.

Laura [12:38]: "There’s just generally a thirst for more Quidditch. ... People are still clamoring for Quidditch to be added to Hogwarts Legacy."

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4. St. Mungo’s Hospital Scenes

Micah introduces the idea of adapting the St. Mungo’s Hospital scenes to provide a deeper emotional impact and explore Neville Longbottom’s backstory.

Micah [17:37]: "I want all of St. Mungo's to be adapted. Specifically, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny meet Neville and his grandmother in the ward."

Andrew suggests enhancing the scene with more visual storytelling and character interactions to underscore the emotional weight.

Andrew [23:10]: "Maybe we can see a more extended sequence of involvement between Neville and his parents."

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5. Snape’s Worst Memory and Potential Marauders Spin-off

Laura passionately discusses Snape’s worst memory, a moment briefly touched upon in the movie, proposing it as a cornerstone for a potential Marauders spin-off series.

Laura [24:00]: "This scene is very quickly glossed over in the movie... my vision here, I think this could easily take over half an episode."

Andrew echoes the sentiment, noting the ease with which this scene could serve as a backdoor pilot for the Marauders’ stories.

Andrew [26:19]: "We were like, it would be so easy for them to do a full Marauders episode probably from this moment."

Nicole highlights the integration of elements from Deathly Hallows to enrich the narrative, while Laura emphasizes the importance of changing perspectives to unveil deeper character motivations.

Nicole [28:53]: "With the TV series you don't have to go strict order. You can pull some stuff from later books to make it make sense for visually looking at everything."

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6. Casting Suggestions

Throughout the episode, the hosts suggest various actors for key roles to bring their visions to life:

• Parker Posey as Rita Skeeter
• Olivia Colman as Alice Longbottom
• Phyllis Logan as Augusta Longbottom
• Joe Locke as James Potter
• Sadie Sink as Lily Potter

Micah [19:59]: "I thought of Olivia Colman... she plays one of the moms in Heartstopper."

Laura [27:15]: "Sadie Sink from Stranger Things... she plays Max for Lily Potter."

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7. Handling Sensitive Content

A significant portion of the discussion addresses the portrayal of Severus Snape, especially concerning the visual depiction of his character being hung upside down by James Potter. Given Snape’s portrayal by a Black actor, the hosts contemplate altering this scene to avoid negative implications.

Laura [31:17]: "Papa Esiedu, who's playing Snape because he's black. People have voiced concerns if James is hanging him upside down, that's not going to be a good thing to do to a black character."

Andrew responds by suggesting alternative ways to depict the teasing without the problematic imagery.

Andrew [30:12]: "James just needs to tease Snape, period. Thrust him a far distance with a spell, make him rock back and forth."

The group acknowledges the potential backlash but emphasizes the importance of responding thoughtfully to fan concerns.

Andrew [31:40]: "Sometimes it feels like when people bandwagon, they'll start sort of like, I guess, clawing on to, like, drawing conclusions and interpretations that were never actually there."

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8. Concluding Remarks and Calls to Action

As the episode wraps up, the hosts reiterate their hopes that HBO Max will heed their suggestions to enrich the "Order of the Phoenix" adaptation. They playfully threaten to boycott the show if their ideas aren't implemented, underscoring their passion and dedication to the Harry Potter universe.

Andrew [32:32]: "Do that or we quit."

Nicole [32:38]: "I will stop using my Parents Max account if you don't do this."

Laura concludes by thanking listeners for their support and encouraging them to engage with the podcast community.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "The moment from Order of the Phoenix that I really want to see in the TV show is Harry's Quibbler interview with Rita Skeeter." — Andrew [02:22]

• "Quidditch is probably the best outlet they're gonna have to flesh Ginny's character out more than she got in the books or in the movies." — Nicole [11:19]

• "This scene is very quickly glossed over in the movie... my vision here, I think this could easily take over half an episode." — Laura [24:00]

• "Sometimes it feels like when people bandwagon, they'll start sort of like, I guess, clawing on to, like, drawing conclusions and interpretations that were never actually there." — Andrew [31:40]

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This episode of MuggleCast offers a thorough and passionate exploration of how key scenes from "Order of the Phoenix" can be adapted to the HBO Max series, aiming to provide a richer and more nuanced portrayal of the beloved Harry Potter narrative. Whether it's deepening character arcs, introducing beloved elements like Quidditch, or addressing sensitive content thoughtfully, the hosts present compelling arguments for their creative visions, all while engaging with the passionate Harry Potter fandom.

Transcript

[Andrew]

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[Laura]

Hello Muggles. We are off this week because of the fourth of July holiday that happened at Ilvermorny and around the rest of America earlier this week. But as we approach the end of our chapter by chapter reread of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we wanted to release to everyone a recent Bonus mugglecast episode that we did in which we discussed which scenes from the Order of the Phoenix book we would like to see maxed for the HBO series. So enjoy this bonus edition of mugglecast to hear our thoughts and reactions to a few different ideas. For two more bonus episodes of the show like this one that we release Every month, visit patreon.com mugglecast and become a member. Today. You'll get instant access to nearly 200 other bonus Mugglecast episodes, plus ad free chapter by chapter episodes, live access to our recording studio every Thursday night, a video message recorded just for you by one of the hosts, and lots more. Listener support from Muggles like you is the only reason we're able to be an independent podcast and we're so grateful to have your listenership. Now, enjoy this episode and we'll see you for another chapter by chapter episode next week.

[Andrew]

All right, welcome welcome to Bonus mugglecast. As we plugged in the main show, we're going to be Doing some max that deep dives. Today we're going to be putting on our thinking caps and getting a little bit creative about imagining what scenes from Order of the Phoenix. Specifically, we want to make sure make it into the TV show because they didn't make it into the movies. And we're actually going to be using a little bit of a format to keep us on track with this. So the way going to be doing this is by using the magic model. It's a moment from Order of the Phoenix, the adaptation vision, the guest stars, the inside POV and changes that we might want to see on tv. So we'll each start out by talking about the scene or sequence that we would want to see adapted. We'll present our vision for that scene, but collaboration is encouraged. So let's jump in and help each other out. Let's jump in and make suggestions about what could be cool to add to these. Because as we've seen, there is so much in Order of the Phoenix that did not make it to the screen. But I figured I would go first to kind of model what this looks like. So the moment from Order of the Phoenix that I really want to see in the TV show is Harry's Quibbler interview with Rita Skeeter. I think there are a lot of opportunities to really add to the stressful environment that Harry's been going through. It's the first time that Harry really gets to share his full story with the wizarding world in a way that kind of, I think, incentivizes people to pay attention. Because it's one thing if Dumbledore is giving a speech that half the wizarding world doesn't believe because they think he's crazy or that he's making this up. But I think there's always curiosity for a Bombshell exclusive interview like this, even if you don't necessarily like the person doing the interview.

[Laura]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

So I think. I think they could honestly have an entire episode surrounding this, including the actual interview, and maybe even the release of the Quibbler when it does come out. But when I'm thinking about my adaptation, I would really want the scene to be a stark contrast to what we got in the first DA meeting at the Hogshead. So that meeting was, you know, the trio attempting and failing to be secretive. And this one is Hermione Wising up a little bit and setting the meeting at the Three Broomsticks, where it's presumably warm, noisy, busy, and just an easy place to kind of be working in plain sight and not have anyone really pay attention to what you're doing.

[Laura]

I'm glad you brought up the Hermione angle too, because that's a really important part of this. Hermione blackmailing Rita into writing this. So it's great character development for Hermione as well. And you said something about something being released when he said that, I thought you were going to talk about Rita being released from the jar. That would have been pretty great too.

[Micah]

Maybe a flashback.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, maybe. Yeah. And I guess it would just really depend on how they're going to establish the whole Rita Animagus storyline in the series. Like, hopefully they actually do it, unlike what happened in the movies. Actually, that's like a precursor. They have to do the full Rita storyline in order for this to work in the TV show. So hopefully they don't skip over it again because that would be a real bummer. But this is, honestly, this is what I'm most proud of in my, like, Headcanon character casting. I want to see Parker Posey as Rita Skeeter. I think she would be phenomenal. We've already cast an American as Dumbledore, so let's just do it. And just for funsies, let's have Rita Skeeter go pipe or no, I was.

[Nicole]

About to say we need that. We need that Victoria Ratliff or do.

[Micah]

How about Harry? No.

[Laura]

Harry Hermione? No, I'm not talking to him for the Quibbler.

[Andrew]

Hermione. No. I honestly, I really think Parker Posey would knock this character out of the park. She's so over the top and eccentric and I think she would be able to play that perfectly. So dream casting right there. Parker Posey as Rita Skeeter. Do it or I'm quitting the fandom. That's it. I'm done.

[Laura]

Well, I mean, she is American, but of course John Lithgow is playing Dumbledore, so all bets are off. We can have her play Rita.

[Andrew]

Yeah, we've broken the seal on casting Americans. The door's open. So, yeah, let's do this. I like the point of view question of whose point of view do you want the scene to be shot from? Cause I think sometimes you can get a more interesting interpretation of something if you do the TV show or the movie from a different point of view than maybe you saw it in the book. I actually think, though, that this scene should stick to Harry's point of view or at the very least, sort of like that neutral third person observer point of view, because I think it's a really good way to establish, or better establish Harry's continued emotional turmoil rather than just shouting, which we know he does a lot of in this book. And I think it's just a different way, I think, to show the complex emotions that Harry's having to navigate right now. Yeah, but the thing that I would actually change for tv. And I'm very curious to hear Yalls perspective on this. So in the book, we don't actually see the interview happen. The chapter ends right as Hermione tells Rita. Okay, like, go ahead, Rita. And we get the Quibbler article later, but we don't actually see Rita asking the questions. I would actually love it if in the TV show, they switched this. So we did get to see some of the interview. Because I feel like with the movies, they had a kind of a bad habit of getting into newspaper montages. And I don't want that here. I feel like I've seen that a million times. And it would be really cool to see Harry and Rita have this moment where they're interviewing again, because we did get to see that in Goblet of Fire.

[Laura]

But now we see it from the perspective of Harry and Hermione holding the cards. And it would be interesting to see how Rita handles herself in this situation versus what we see in Goblet of Fire. So. Yeah, I agree. We should see the new version of her.

[Andrew]

Right. And she's. Rita's not on top here. I mean, it says her nails, which are usually perfectly manicured or chipped, and her hair is kind of laying limp and lifeless. She's missing some of the rhinestones on her nails. Like, she's. She's still the same old Rita, because she wants to go for the quick quotes Quill, but she's definitely fallen on hard times.

[Micah]

She hasn't been taking her Lorazepam.

[Andrew]

No, she is not. She's gonna have to drink herself to sleep tonight.

[Laura]

Oh, she probably does.

[Andrew]

That just seems like a Rita thing to do. But, yeah, this is something that I think would really add to the complexity and the nuance of the storytelling here. Because Hermione is like. She's blackmailing somebody, which is objectively bad, but she's doing it for the greater good. And the greater good is such a complicated theme in these books as well. I like being able to explore that through these various character arcs.

[Laura]

Yeah, I love that.

[Andrew]

Cool. So we're gonna max it. Awesome.

[Laura]

Parker, Posey, Nicole, do you want to go next?

[Nicole]

Sure. So I didn't have, like, one specific scene, but I was thinking the Quidditch Season did not make it into the fifth movie. And I know Quidditch looks kind of controversial. Maybe the author doesn't like it. She wrote it out of the books. But I thought it'd be nice if we actually have a season to put some effort into Quidditch, because for my adaptation vision, it's the first season without Oliver Wood. We have, like, Ron filling in, and then we get, you know, Fred, George, Harry kicked off the team. There's, like, a lot of material there that I think would just kind of develop everyone further, especially Ginny, because we have, like, movie Ginny, obviously no development. And even book, Ginny doesn't have a whole ton. So it'd be nice to, like, give her. Give her something. So when, you know they're dating in books, you know, six, it's not a shock.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I tend to agree. I feel like Quidditch is probably the best outlet they're gonna have to flesh Ginny's character out more than she got in the books or in the movies. I agree with you because I. I find Ginny, unfortunately, to be one of the least interesting characters because we just don't. And it's not that there's anything wrong with her. We just don't learn a lot about her. She's very two dimensional. Right.

[Nicole]

So I was hoping. Yeah, we give her some Quidditch. Give her some.

[Andrew]

Give her one personality.

[Nicole]

Personality, you know?

[Laura]

Yeah. I think, too, there's just generally a thirst for more Quidditch. Like we saw when Hogwarts Legacy came out, you couldn't play a Quidditch game, and people hated that. And they're still clamoring for Quidditch to be added to Hogwarts Legacy. Hopefully it will in the sequel or whatever's coming next. But I think it's just clear that there's a lot of interest in the sport, no matter your opinion on the rules. So, yeah, I would like to see it come to one of the seasons or to more of the adaptation.

[Micah]

Yeah, it would be good for some pacing, too, throughout the season to have Quidditch interspersed.

[Nicole]

Yeah, yeah. And I guess for guest stars, I didn't want to cast any of the kids because I think they're doing that themselves. So I thought this was like a fun chance to have a Madam Hooch character.

[Andrew]

So.

[Nicole]

So I went gender bending and I'm like a Philadelphia sports fan, so I was like, you know, more Americans. Let's get, like, Cooper de Jean in there. Bryce Harper. I don't know if they're Harry Potter fans, but I mean, okay, so Bryce.

[Laura]

Harper is a Philadelphia Philly. Cooper De Jean is on the Eagles.

[Nicole]

On the Eagles. He had the pick six and super.

[Andrew]

Super Bowl.

[Micah]

Come on, Andrew.

[Laura]

Oh, okay. Yeah, I should know. She's cute, too. I don't follow football.

[Nicole]

That's okay.

[Micah]

I celebrated the Eagles, though.

[Laura]

Oh, I did.

[Nicole]

Yeah. You're so. That'll be fun. Or if they don't want to do an American. Some. Like a British football. Football. The real would love that.

[Laura]

I bet there's some who would. Some athletes who would really jump at the chance to have at least a cameo in a Quidditch scene.

[Andrew]

Get Ted Lasso in there.

[Nicole]

Oh, there we go. Yes. I didn't even think of that one. There we go. America is going to take over the franchise.

[Andrew]

We love to do that.

[Nicole]

Yeah. So. Oh, my thoughts rambled here. For the pov. I said just keep it as Harry. But. Keep it as Harry. But if we're gonna get more Quidditch in the. In the TV show, like when Harry's serving detention where he's hearing the Quidditch match, instead of, like doing that, we can just cut to the Quidditch match, maybe see the championship.

[Laura]

Yeah, I. I love that. And Dumbledore's like, oh, don't look at me, don't look at me. I don't wanna. Can't make eye contact with you.

[Andrew]

No.

[Micah]

I actually really like that to do throughout Order of the Phoenix to see more from Dumbledore's perspective. Because, like, you're saying we don't see him really at all until later on in the book. So that'd be really cool.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I think that would really enhance it. I like that a lot.

[Nicole]

That was not relevant to my. I was kind of. After reading the chapter, I'm like, we need more Dumbledore. He's looking good in this chapter. And then just any changes. I think I kind of mentioned it. Just like actually showing more. Once Harry, Fred and George are kicked off the team, the team's still going on, so we have to replace three players. I don't know. That's a good come from behind victory for the Gryffindor team.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, I agree. It does sometimes feel like if something's not happening from Harry's perspective, it's just not happening.

[Laura]

Also, why not change the outcome of some of the Quidditch games across the series? Keep viewers guessing about what's actually going to happen. I mean, in some cases, you might need the winner from the book to still win, but maybe not. Every time you can change Some things.

[Nicole]

Especially the fifth one, they win in the fifth. I mean, to be selfish, Harry's not there, so he doesn't care. Right. We can get a. That could be something there. Because maybe in a third year, fifth year and then six. So.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. I would really love for Quidditch to get more love and to be well done.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Laura]

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[Laura]

Micah Mir, are you next?

[Micah]

I can go? If you want.

[Laura]

Okay.

[Micah]

So I'll start off by saying I want all of St. Mungo's to be adapted.

[Andrew]

Yeah.

[Micah]

But specifically. And it's probably just because it's fresh in my mind. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny, meet Neville and his grandmother. Inside of St. Mungo's. Inside of the ward with Lockhart and Bode and the Longbottoms. In terms of the vision, I thought this could be a little bit quiet, but it's emotionally devastating. And you could really have sound do the heavy lifting here rather than a lot of dialogue between the characters. And it should be a scene that kind of lingers in the viewer's chest. That's kind of where my head went with this. It is a very heavy scene.

[Nicole]

I like that. I've been watching the Pit on Max, and there isn't a lot of music in the show. So I can see this working the way they like, Slow it down. And it's impactful without having a lot of background music, which I think is cool.

[Laura]

Yeah. And you think about a hospital There's a lot of noise in action always happening. And I think that's why no music works on the pit, Nicole, because there's always something happening. So, yes, it could still be quiet, but you're hearing a lot of, you know, the different. I don't know what a wizard hospital sounds like.

[Nicole]

Yeah, I guess there's no beep. There's no beeping of machines. But something.

[Laura]

Yeah, more whimsical sounds or something. I don't know. But yeah. And, I mean, I could see the reveal about Neville's parents being the cliffhanger of an episode, and I think that would add to the emotional weight of it as well.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I think so, too.

[Micah]

I like that a lot. In terms of casting, kind of similar to Nicole, I figured the younger characters, which obviously would be older here, will take care of themselves. So I didn't necessarily want to go for. For Neville. But in terms of Alice Longbottom, I thought of Olivia Colman. I know her most from Broadchurch, which is a great show. Folks haven't seen it with David Tennant. It's about, I'd say, like, three seasons that they did it, but I'm guessing most people know her from the Crown.

[Laura]

Oh, yeah. And she's also in Heartstopper. She plays one of the moms, and she's excellent in that as well.

[Andrew]

Wasn't she also in Fleabag?

[Laura]

Yeah, she was, I think.

[Andrew]

Yeah, she's great.

[Laura]

And I have an impression of her. Do you want to hear it? You won't even understand it.

[Micah]

I don't even know what it means, but go. Yeah, go ahead.

[Laura]

That's it.

[Micah]

Is that, like, umbrage?

[Laura]

I think it's from Fleabag. I'm forgetting I started doing this in front of Pat, but I think it.

[Andrew]

Is from Flea because her character in Fleabag is insufferable. So, yeah, I think that's what it is. That's funny. But no, and I. What a. What an opportunity to expand more on Neville's parents. Like, maybe we could actually get more from a scene with them than just Neville's mom stumbling out to give him a gum wrapper. Like, maybe we can see a more extended sequence of involvement between Neville and his parents. Or even, like, I don't know if it could be. Like, I know they love montages in the wizarding world, and I don't want to get into too many of them, but what if there was some kind of montage to really tie together why it was that they're on the closed ward and that Neville is having to visit them here.

[Micah]

Yeah, yeah. And I'll probably build off of that in just a little bit. But also Augusta Longbottom, we have to obviously cast her for this as well. And I went with Phyllis Logan. I think a lot of people would know who she is from Downton abbey. Her and Mr. Carson.

[Laura]

Yeah.

[Micah]

Which is interesting because I think Mr. Carson is actually Imelda Staunton's husband.

[Andrew]

Oh, really? That's funny.

[Micah]

So connecting some threads there, but she's really. I think she could knock Augusta Longbottom out of the park. Yeah. So I didn't cast Frank either. I. To me, this was more of like an Alice moment.

[Andrew]

Yeah, yeah.

[Micah]

Now, in terms of point of view, I'd want to go with Nevilles. I think you could play. I mean, it would be super interesting to go through one of the POVs of either Alice or Frank. But I went with Neville. And this kind of goes to what was being said earlier about just the nature of the hospital. But I'm thinking like the corridor, the corridors of St. Mungo's are too bright, too clean. The smell of potion disinfectant clings to his nostrils like a memory he can't shake. Neville walks beside his grandmother, his shoes echoing against the tile. He doesn't say much. He rarely does. Here. There's nothing to say. He knows where they're going, knows what state they'll be in. He knows not to expect change. But still, every time, there's a tiny part of him that hopes, oh, this is devastating. I'm sorry. Yeah.

[Laura]

And it's just he's so used to this place that, like you said, there's nothing to say. It's just another day visiting the parents in the state he knows they're going to be in.

[Micah]

Yeah. And as far as changes for tv, it's. It's hard because this was never adapted. But I mean, I would love for there to be some kind of flashback to the Order or Alice or Frank's involvement in the Order of the Phoenix or just to get some more maybe story from Augusta about these two, because it feels like an opportunity to kind of build out Neville's character a little bit more as well. But one thing I thought that would be kind of cool, that's a change from the text, was when Alice gives Neville the gum wrapper, she quickly glances at Harry and it triggers a memory inside of her. Her eyes hold on Harry for a moment, looking like she wants to say something before digging inside of her pocket and handing him a gum wrapper.

[Laura]

Ooh, yeah.

[Andrew]

I Love this. And you know what? I feel like there is actually something in the chapter that we could pull from to support this. And it's the fact that they also initially come across Lockhart on the closed ward. And it's very clear that Lockhart has these glimmers of clarity where he's like, do I know you? Have we met each other before? Or. He clearly still loves to sign autographs. He doesn't know why, but he does. Like, he's still in there. And even the nurse seems to imply that that's the case. So I wonder if a change they could make for the TV show is to just, instead of doing that for Lockhart, do it for Alice.

[Laura]

Yeah. You also think about just the power of Harry's eyes and how it might Snape of Lily. It's something similar to this idea. Yeah. I love that. I really love that. All right, well, bringing us home today, I want to look at Snape's worst memory. So this scene is very quickly glossed over in the movie, as so much was in the movie. We really just see Harry briefly enter Snape's memory while practicing Occlumency, which was changed from the book for the movie, as we discussed in the main show. So my vision here, I think this could easily take over half an episode. And this would be sort of Marauders spin off episode that so many fans have been clamoring for. This could be a way to test the waters for a potential Marauder series. There's going to be other opportunities too, but this is one of them from the books. And this will serve as an opportunity to reveal why Snape hates James so much and also, by extension, detests Harry. And it will, like I said, give the fans some lengthy Marauders material. This would, you know, I mentioned this being sort of a backdoor pilot testing ground for the Marauders. This could show the chemistry between the foursome. They're gonna have to cast these characters, and hopefully they will cast them with an eye towards potentially giving them their own spinoff again. The fans have been wanting this.

[Andrew]

Yeah. I think we actually talked about this as like a want back when we were talking about our visions for the show, but we were like, it would be so easy for them to a full Marauders episode probably from this moment. Yeah. And I mean, we see TV shows do that to launch spinoffs all the time.

[Laura]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So in terms of guest stars, Joe Locke from Heartstopper plays one of the leads. I could kind of see him for James Potter. He's got a unique facial structure. So like there's going to be a slim chance that Joe Locke looks like whoever they cast as Harry Potter. But you know, I guess it's possible. And then I was thinking Sadie Sink from Stranger Things. She plays Max for Lily Potter. She's got kind of the reddish hair which Lily does, at least in the movie.

[Andrew]

Yeah, well, and I think. I think she has the personality too because Lily, particularly in this scene is taking no nonsense.

[Laura]

Yeah, exactly.

[Andrew]

So I think you need that kind of presence. I agree.

[Laura]

In terms of the point of view for this scene, I think both James and Lily's point of view. But like what we get from the movie, Harry witnesses in the background what is going on. We see him watching this unfold. We see James bullying Snape and Lily coming to Snape's defense, like Laura was alluding to. And this scene should be designed with the reveals from Deathly Hallows in mind that Snape always loved Lily and Lily was kind of caught in between James and Snape. She didn't love Snape the way Snape loved her, but still she had to kind of juggle them both because they were at odds with one another.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I love that. And I kind of like showing it from James and Lily's point of view too because I think, I mean, in the books, obviously I think we're more intended to see it from Snape's point of view. And that might be by design. I don't know if that's where you're taking it.

[Laura]

Yeah, well, right. Because I think one thing that would be so exciting about getting this is that we're finally changing up the point of views. We're getting an entirely new point of view that we possibly hadn't seen up until this point. I'm optimistic that book five, season five will not be our first time getting a Marauders deep dive, but it could be. So it still would be exciting to get that.

[Andrew]

Yeah, it would.

[Nicole]

I like the idea too of bringing in some Deathly Hollows because with the TV series you don't have to go strict order. You can pull some stuff from later books to make it make sense for visually looking at everything.

[Laura]

Especially when you assume that a lot of people watching the show, if not the majority, will have known how this story ends. So you can spoil things maybe a little earlier than you would have otherwise.

[Andrew]

Right. Andrew, were you thinking in terms of changes for tv? Was there anything specific about the bullying scene with Snape?

[Laura]

Yes.

[Andrew]

So that's that you were thinking of.

[Laura]

I know people Online have been concerned that Papa Esiedu, who's playing Snape because he's black. People have voiced concerns about if James is hanging him upside down, that's not going to be a good thing to do to a black character. So I was sort of just thinking, instead of hanging him upside down, he can just be teased in other ways. Like, this wouldn't be that hard to change. James just needs to tease Snape, period. Thrust him a far distance with a spell, make him rock back and forth.

[Micah]

Wasn't the whole idea of him being upside down so that we see his underwear isn't.

[Andrew]

Yep.

[Micah]

So, I mean, you could also just easily, like, pants him.

[Nicole]

Yeah, right. Flip up the robe. It's fine.

[Laura]

Yeah. Blow some air and it blows up the road.

[Andrew]

Right, right. Yeah, something like that. It's also. I feel like this. And I don't know, I mean, I. I don't want to discount people being concerned about, like, the optics of it. I think that we just have to wait and see how it turns out and pass judgment then. But I've noticed it's pretty common for people leading with this argument to lead with the commentary of Snape hung, or, excuse me, James hung Snape from a tree. How are they going to do that in the show? And that's really the. The imagery that people are disturbed about with Snape being cast as a black character. But James didn't hang Snape from a tree again. He hung him upside down to show his underwear. And, like, that's terrible too.

[Laura]

Yeah.

[Andrew]

But, like, the. The context is very different there. And I just. Sometimes it feels like when people bandwagon, they'll, like, start sort of like, I guess, clawing on to, like, drawing conclusions and interpretations that were, like, never actually there.

[Laura]

I don't know if people love looking.

[Andrew]

For a reason to complain.

[Laura]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. And there's. We're going to continue to get a lot of criticism like this from people, even if it's. And probably a lot of it won't be justified. So.

[Andrew]

Yeah. You want to know something I think is so funny and it's TV show related. I mean, I'm sure y' all have seen there are definitely the naysayers of the Internet who love to go on TikTok or whatever and be like, no one's asking for this. Why are we doing this again? And it's like, they wouldn't be doing it again if there wasn't money in it. So clearly people are asking for it.

[Nicole]

Right. HBO's not a charity.

[Andrew]

They're not a charity. Yeah, exactly.

[Laura]

And there's good reason to do it, as we've discussed before. All right, well, that was fun. Hopefully. Hbo. Are you listening? Do all that, Max that.

[Andrew]

Yeah, do that or we quit.

[Laura]

Yeah.

[Micah]

Give you a lot of good ideas.

[Nicole]

I will stop using my Parents Max account if you don't do this.

[Andrew]

Yeah, exactly.

[Laura]

Oh, they're cracking down on password sharing. I don't know if you saw that.

[Nicole]

So, no, I haven't.

[Laura]

Enjoy it while you can.

[Nicole]

I'm still in.

[Laura]

Well, thanks, everybody, for listening. Thanks for your support, and we'll see you next time. Bye.

[Andrew]

Bye, y'. All. Sam.