The wizarding world is vast and endless, with so many amazing characters to look into. Now, with the new HBO series, fans can finally expect to dive deeper into characters we didn’t really get to know all that well in the Harry Potter films.
The Harry Potter series also has the opportunity to fix characters that were messed up in the movies, including one of the most important characters in the story, Ronald Weasley.
This isn't a piece where I’m going to critique Rupert Grint’s portrayal of Ron, because the actor did a great job with what he was given. There’s a reason why fans are excited for him to come back as Ron for the stage show. Movie Ron and book Ron are two very different people, and I need fans to realize that. Now, the show has a chance to finally fix him and bring the character to life in a way never done before — and hopefully through these four character traits from the novels.
We can see his actual brain, not his foolishness
Something that bothered me throughout the movies is that Ron is seen as this idiot. Yes, he’s Harry's (Daniel Radcliffe) best friend and ends up becoming Hermione’s (Emma Watson) husband, but most of the time, he’s just a goofball who makes poor decisions and fumbles through school and life in general.
In the books, however, Ron isn’t that. Sure, he’s not perfect, and he’s not the best academically, but Ron has many clever moments as a strategist in the books. He’s brilliant at Wizard’s Chess (which we only see once in the films) and uses his brain to help Harry in many different situations.
We can see his bravery from the novels
There’s a running joke that Ron in the movies didn’t really deserve to be a Gryffindor because he wasn’t brave, but in the books, he’s the opposite. His backbone feels as if the movies removed it entirely. Yes, there are some hilarious comedic moments, but when those are favored over moments that truly make him stand out, it ruins him as a character.
For example, in the novels, Ron stands in front of Sirius and says that if he wanted Harry, they’d have to kill them as well. In the movies, Hermione gets that moment. In the books, Ron does that with a broken leg, too.
As much as I love Hermione, these moments should stay with Ron because they shape his character.
He'll hopefully show real interest in Hermione
One of the biggest issues with Ron in the movies is that many people found it incredibly hard to believe Hermione should have ended up with Ron because the chemistry just wasn't there, or the writing for these two didn't work out as well as the books. Many of the moments that made them work in the novels weren't included to make their relationship at the end feel sustainable.
The film handled this relationship so badly that a subsection of fanfiction has Hermione ending up with other people, like Harry or Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). The latter has become a whole thing, with some famous fanfictions published as full-fledged romantasy novels.
That’s why we need to see the actual relationship between the two, to see it unfold properly on TV and make sense. And honestly, with the increase in length, we just might get that.
We can look further into his mental state
Something else we didn’t get to see as much in the films is Ron’s take on his own feelings and insecurities about not only his family but Harry’s fame, too. We see a little of it in the movies with Harry, but not nearly as much in the books, and his feelings about his brother are basically forgotten.
Ron often feels forgotten by his family and left behind, which leads to a lot of his complex feelings. With the more time we’ve had to explore these characters, we can see that Ron is, indeed, complex and not just some sidekick who happens to love eating.
All I can hope is that this new Harry Potter series truly fixes Ron, and we get the version we all know and love when it comes out on Dec. 25, 2026.
In the meantime, you can stream all eight Harry Potter movies on HBO Max.
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