The Harry Potter TV series heading to HBO promises to bring the Wizarding World back to life with fresh faces and deeper storytelling. We recently got confirmation that the show will feature eight episodes in the first season, which gives the showrunners time to explore details and characters from the books that the films were forced to leave behind because of time and production constraints.
But with a sprawling fantasy universe that features dozens of characters who were left out of the films, the big question is: who needs to make the cut? Here are seven Harry Potter characters who absolutely deserve a spot in the upcoming show that weren't included in the movies.
1. Charlie Weasley
Book readers are very familiar with the fact that Ron's second-oldest brother was completely absent from the movies, aside from a name drop in The Goblet of Fire. While Charlie doesn't play a huge role in the books, he shows up at a few pivotal moments, and his presence just makes the Weasleys a cooler family.
Harry first meets Charlie in Book 4 when he returns home from Romania—where he works as a dragonologist—to attend the Quidditch World Cup. Albus Dumbledore later tasks Charlie with recruiting foreign wizards to help fight against Voldemort. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Charlie also led a group of hundreds of wizards to reinforce the defenders of the castle, which turned the tide of the battle against the Death Eaters.
2. Winky the House Elf
Winky is a character who mostly appears in Book 4, where she is a major part of the Crouch family's expanded subplot. She serves as the family's House Elf and is devoted to serving Barty Crouch senior. In the books, Crouch Senior uses polyjuice potion to break his son out of Azkaban, and he tasks Winky with watching over his criminal son, who was kept in check with the imperius curse.
Winky and Crouch Jr. are in attendance at the Quidditch World Cup, with the latter underneath an invisibility cloak. Winky is later blamed for casting a dark mark in the sky that was really made by Crouch Jr., who had escaped the effects of the Imperius curse.
Winkey is fired by Crouch, and Dobby later gets her a job working in the Hogwarts kitchens, where she falls into a drunken depression. Winky's story inspires Hermione Granger to create the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, which advocates for Elvish rights.
3. Frank and Alice Longbottom
Frank and Alice Longbottom are Aurors for the Ministry of Magic and the parents of Neville. The Longbottoms are active in the original Order of the Phoenix during the First Wizarding War, and their son is once believed to be the prophesied Chosen One since he was born around the same time as Harry.
The films were unable to include this portion of the prophecy subplot, which tragically led to the Longbottoms being tortured into insanity by a group of Death Eaters, including Barty Crouch Jr., Bellatrix Lestrange, and Rabastan Lestrange. Putting these scenes as flashbacks in the show would add more layers and depth to Neville's character, and make his story more satisfying when he ultimately destroys one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.
4. Peeves
Peeves is one of the many ghosts living inside Hogwarts, and it is mentioned that he has been there since the castle was founded in the year 993. Peeves appears in all seven books, making it kind of shocking that he wasn't even mentioned in the movies. He was cast and included in one scene from Sorcerer's Stone, but it was cut from the final film.
Peeves is the only ghost in the story who can manipulate physical objects, and he uses this ability to torment students and teachers in the castle with a variety of pranks and gags. It would be cool to throw the book readers a bone with a Peeves scene here and there over the show's lifespan.
5. Ludo Bagman
Another character who is primarily featured in The Goblet of Fire book, Ludo Bagman is a former Quidditch star with a gambling problem—a gambling problem that sees him accrue debt to Fred and George and the Goblins. Bagman's debt to the Goblins is one of the reasons the entire race decides not to take a side in the Second Wizarding War.
Bagman is kind of a moron. Think Gilderoy Lockhart, but a lot less sleazy and conniving. He could be utilized in flashbacks as well, as he is one of the many wizards accused of conspiring with the Death Eaters during the Ministry trials.
6. Andromeda and Ted Tonks
Andromeda and Ted Tonks are the parents of Order of the Phoenix member Nymphadora Tonks. Unlike her sisters—Narcissa and Bellatrix—Andromeda rejects the pure-blood mania of her family by marrying Ted, a Muggle-born wizard. This leads to her being excommunicated from the family, most of whom become Death Eaters.
Andromeda's story could be used as a vehicle to highlight just how divisive and hateful Lord Voldemort's pure-blood policies are. It's a tragic story worth being told in the HBO show, especially because Andromeda loses nearly her entire family during the Second Wizarding War, and she raises her grandson Edward alone after the war.
7. Regulus Black
Regulus Black is Sirius Black's younger brother, who is a devoted follower of Lord Voldemort for a time. Although he subscribes to the pure blood beliefs of his family, Regulus eventually turns on Voldemort when he sees how far the Dark Lord is willing to go to enact his agenda.
Regulus's disillusionment culminates when Voldemort needs a House Elf to test the obstacles at the secret lake where he hides Slitherine's locket, one of his horcruxes.
Regulus volunteers Kreature for the job, who unexpectedly survives the task thanks to his powerful elf magic. Kreature tells Regulus about the locket, and he becomes the first wizard to figure out that Voldemort had created Horcruxes. Kreacher and Regulus return to the lake, where they switch out the locket for a fake one.
Regulus's final order to Kreacher is to figure out how to destroy the locket, which he is never able to accomplish.
This entire story deserves its own episode of television, in my opinion. It is too good to just set aside via explanation like the films did. If the writers can weave in Regulus's complicated relationship with Sirius and how he regrets the horrible things Voldemort makes him do, this could become one of the most tragic and heroic stories in the whole show.
HBO’s Harry Potter series is due out sometime in 2027.