A key character in Harry Potter will appear in the new series. image: hbo
HBO is finally offering fans what had been denied them on the big screen: one of the key characters from the books will indeed be present in the series.
21.06.2026, 16:2521.06.2026, 16:25
Anika Jany / watson.de
Good news for book fans Harry Potter. While Peeves, the poltergeist who makes life hell for the young students at Hogwarts, had not found his place in the films – to the great despair of many book lovers -, the HBO series will not make this mistake.
This great fan favorite will therefore walk the corridors of the magic school in this new adaptation, which is scheduled to launch for Christmas on HBO Max.
Casting for poltergeist Peeves has already been found
According to Entertainment Weekly, the interpreter of this mischievous ghost has already been recruited. The role will be played by Peter Serafinowicz. The British actor is far from being a novice in the Hollywood world.
Serafinowicz notably lent his voice to Darth Maul in Star Wars: La Menace fantôme and is also known for his roles in Shaun of the Dead, Dragons, Parks and Recreationas well as in John Wick: Chapter 2 et Guardians of the Galaxy.
Cut to montage of Harry Potter films
Fans were regularly outraged by the fact that Peeves did not have a place in these globally successful films. Initially, the character was indeed planned for the first part of Harry Potter, released in 2001.
The figure was, however, removed during post-production. According to Chris Columbus, director of the first two films in the franchise, the decision to remove Peeves is one of his “biggest regrets regarding the first film.”
HBO is finally offering fans what had been denied them on the big screen.
If the ghost does not play a crucial role in the plot itself, his perpetual pranks and stupidities that are part of his daily life do not only constitute a nuisance in the life of Hogwarts: Above all, they regularly make the janitor Argus Filch out of his hinges.
Filch always gets angry with Peeves, which pleases fans of the books a lot.
The original actor spoke about his removal
In 2011, British comedian Rik Mayall spoke out – after spending three weeks in front of the cameras as Peeves for the films Harry Potter:
“I filmed a little bit, then I went home and got the money – a considerable amount of money – and a month later they said to me, ‘Rik, we’re sorry, you’re not in the film’.”
Rik Mayall, who died in 2014 at the age of 56, never managed to admit to his children that he had been cut from the film. The latter did not even realize the absence of their dad on the screen:
“They came back and said, ‘The makeup is really great. You didn’t look like yourself at all, Dad, it really worked.’ They thought I was playing Hagrid.”
La série HBO Harry Potter is planned as a seven-part adventure – each season dedicated to one of the seven novels. The ambition: to stay as close as possible to the books and “go deeper” than the films did.
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