HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Is Changing Draco Malfoy In One Unnecessary Way

So much of HBO’s upcoming reboot of Harry Potter touts a real “nobody asked for this” energy. From the misguided casting of Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, to author J.K. Rowling’s continued involvement in the franchise, the new Harry Potter series already has the bearing of a massive mistake. And it’s only growing more troublesome as new details about the show emerge. Harry Potter started filming in 2025, and though details about new changes have come piecemeal, it seems that another antagonist is getting a frustrating update in the reboot.

As a series-length adaptation of Rowling’s first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first season of the Harry Potter series will have a much larger canvas on which to tell its story. That means the reboot will contain some new additions — and according to Lox Pratt, who plays Potter’s arch-rival, Draco Malfoy, in the series, those additions include more backstory for one of the most loathed characters in the Wizarding World.

“You get to see Draco at home,” Pratt told Variety. “I won’t spoil too much about that, but there are some brilliant scenes at home where you start to get an insight into how he is.”

Anyone who’s read the Harry Potter novels knows what these early scenes will likely foreshadow. Draco is one of the most ostensibly insufferable characters in the book series, largely thanks to his upbringing. He’s constantly picking on heroes like Harry and his Muggle-born friend, Hermione Granger, slinging slurs that he no doubt learned at home. The HBO series will likely use its stretched screentime to unpack why Draco is the way that he is — but it might also try to lay the groundwork for a redemption that this saga has never needed.

Throughout the saga, it’s incredibly easy to hate Draco. He’s a bully and a bigot, and a perfect example of the ways a parent’s dogma can infect the mind of a child. The Malfoy name is one of the oldest and most notorious in the Wizarding World, staking their reputation on their “pure blood” lineage. Draco’s parents were also Death Eaters (or servants of the dark wizard Voldemort), which is this franchise’s answer to a Nazi or white supremacist. Their loyalty to Voldemort remains an open secret as the books progress — that is, until the Dark Lord returns, and the Malfoys, including Draco, join his side.

What’s frustrating about his character is that Rowling copped out at what felt like the last minute, framing his role in Voldemort’s return with much more reluctance. The author would later say that Draco always had some good in him, and it took the violence around him to develop a semblance of a conscience. That said, it’s not kindled until the very last novel, and it’s not explored with any real urgency or specificity. He and his parents defect from Voldemort’s army the moment it’s convenient, and he went on to quietly unlearn the abusive prejudice he’d been immersed in all his life.

HBO’s Harry Potter series will probably work to make Draco’s eventual development feel more natural, using scenes of the character at home to stoke some early sympathy. There’s nothing wrong with giving Draco some more dimension, or with exploring the Malfoys’ corruption. But will the series stop there, or could it be taking inspiration from another wildly popular YA adventure?

Avatar: The Last Airbender gave the next generation a refreshing challenge to the cut-and-dry villains of our childhoods in Prince Zuko. His struggle between the dark side and the light was a major throughline across its three seasons, culminating with an incredible payoff when he joins the heroic Avatar in Season 3. Zuko was one of the first in a long line of sympathetic villains that have become fan favorites since; Netflix’s own Avatar reboot even planted the seeds for Zuko’s redemption early in its first season. Still, it’s hard to see Draco joining those ranks. Not only would it take a lot more work, but it’d also undermine the dangers that the Malfoys are meant to represent.

At this stage, it’s hard to know just how far Harry Potter will go with Draco’s characterization. But given all the strange changes that have been made so far, it wouldn’t be so surprising if the reboot took yet another totally unnecessary detour.