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The Harry Potter HBO remake just got a lot more exciting, with actor Bertie Carvel revealing a potential change from the books. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books centered completely on Harry, which made sense – but also resulted in a much narrower magical world, one far less developed than it perhaps should have been. The HBO Harry Potter reboot is making substantial changes, fleshing out the Wizarding World by featuring other characters. One is Bertie Carvel’s Cornelius Fudge, cast for Season 1 despite not being in the first book.
Speaking at the Italian Global Series Festival, Carvel explained his portrayal of Fudge. “I know what story I would like to tell,” he said, “about a man who, in a darkening world, with an incomprehensible evil looming, a man in a position of power who has to kind of confront his own deep well of terror and fear, for reasons that I’ll invent and maybe get to put on the screen. It’s like he’s somebody who has been traumatized.”
Bertie Carvel talking about his role in the upcoming Harry Potter series 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/W09bH7twui
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Carvel’s Cornelius Fudge Shows the Potential of the Harry Potter Relaunch
Robert Hardy played Cornelius Fudge in the original Harry Potter films, and it’s already clear we’re getting a much deeper portrayal. Rowling’s novels present Fudge as a Chamberlain-style figure, someone terrified of the Dark Lord’s return who simply refuses to believe Voldemort is back. He became an increasingly important figure as the books continued, particularly as a rival for Dumbledore. Fudge ultimately resigned in disgrace after he saw Voldemort with his own eyes, and holds a lot of responsibility for the Wizarding World’s poor response to the rise of the Death Eaters.
Carvel’s approach is quite interesting, though, in that he’s clearly developed a psychology behind Fudge’s (sometimes incomprehensible and exaggerated) actions in the books. In his view, Fudge is a man who was deeply traumatized – and who simply can’t face the return of that trauma. We often tend to look at politicians as though they are driven by policy first, but Carvel suggests we should interpret Fudge psychologically; Voldemort was so terrifying, that Fudge simply couldn’t face this reality. Thus, he dismissed it, and in doing so dismissed any who tried to tell him otherwise.
HBO’s Harry Potter remake feels like a surprisingly important project. It’s not simply a rinse-and-repeat of the books, but rather is an attempt to expand upon them; Fudge doesn’t even appear in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and yet the character apparently has a role in this first season. It’s possible the series will take a “show, not tell” approach, revealing Dumbledore’s relationship with the Ministry of Magic, rather than simply describing it and then showing the breakdown. That would be a smart approach, making for a compelling narrative and helping give Dumbledore himself a more pronounced arc.
Remakes aren’t guaranteed to be a success, but the Harry Potter trailer more than justifies the HBO show’s existence. It looks as though we’re in for something very different, a show that may well serve another function; not just helping keep this beloved franchise going, but one that also fleshes out the world and establishes a more secure foundation for future Wizarding World projects. Previous attempts stalled because the books weren’t quite enough to build upon, but this expansion may well solve the problem.
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