Summary
TheHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixmovie made a frustrating change to Sirius Black’s character that completely ruined his story. While the death of Harry’s godfather was tragic regardless, the more profound lessons it was meant to reflect were entirely lost in Warner Bros films. Not only did this lessen the event’s overall impact, but the Boy Who Lived walked away from the situation carrying all the responsibility for the tragedy, which wasn’t the case in theHarry Potterbooks. Now, it’s up to HBO’s TV remake to set the record straight about Sirius Black.
At theend of theHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixmovie, Voldemort tricked Harry into coming to the Ministry of Magic by giving him false visions of Sirius being tortured. When the Boy Who Lived fell for it, Sirius came out of hiding to protect his godson but lost his life in the battle.It was entirely Harry’s fault since he had made no effort to find an alternative solutionbefore rushing off to the Ministry. Additionally, Sirius' arrival in the movies was purely self-sacrifice, and he was categorized firmly as a hero in the end. While all of this is true to an extent in theHarry Potterbooks, several major puzzle pieces were cut.
HBO’s Harry Potter TV Show: Cast, Updates & Everything We Know
Harry Potter is being remade as a television show for HBO and every detail about the next adaptation featuring the Boy Wizard can be found here.
The Order Of The Phoenix Movie Cut All The Ways Sirius Was Responsible For His Own Death
The Harry Potter Movies Presented Sirius As A Morally One-Note Character
Harry felt entirely responsible for Sirius' death at the end of theOrder of the Phoenixbook, but Dumbledore pointed out this was an unfair judgment.Sirius made various decisions that directly resulted in the situation at the Ministry of MagicHis most significant sin was his poor treatment of the house-elf Kreacher. Sirius' abuse of his old family servant led Kreacher to betray his master, giving information about the Order of the Phoenix to Bellatrix Lestrange which allowed Voldemort to use Sirius against Harry:
“I warned Sirius when we adopted twelve Grimmauld Place as our headquarters that Kreacher must be treated with kindness and respect. I also told him that Kreacher could be dangerous to us. I do not think that Sirius took me very seriously, or that he ever saw Kreacher as a being with feelings as acute as a human’s — ”
“Don’t you blame — don’t you — talk — about Sirius like — ” Harry’s breath was constricted, he could not get the words out properly. But the rage that had subsided so briefly had flared in him again; he would not let Dumbledore criticize Sirius. “Kreacher’s a lying — foul — he deserved — ”
“Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harry,” said Dumbledore. “Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobby’s. He was forced to do Sirius’s bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacher’s faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacher’s lot easier — ”
Kreacher’s betrayal further relates to Harry’s innocence in Sirius' death since the boy did attempt to take other action before heading to the Ministry of Magic in theOrder of the Phoenixbook. He used Floo powder to contact Grimmault Place to check if Sirius was really in the Department of Mysteries. Kreacher lied, stating that Sirius had left when he was really at home—something that wouldn’t have happened if Sirius had treated Kreacher like a “being with feelings as acute as a human’s.”
Finally, there was Sirius' treatment of Harry. While the pair had grown close during theevents ofHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fireand the beginning ofOrder of the Phoenix, a riff had developed between them leading up to the man’s death. Sirius frequently tried to take risks with his safety and freedom, forcing Harry to be the responsible and logical one of the two. Thiscreated the sense in Harry that Sirius' safety fell to him and that his godfather couldn’t be trusted to make rational decisionsin his own interest. This was all, of course, completely absent from theHarry Pottermovies.
Sirius had given Harry a two-way mirror for Christmas in theOrder of the Phoenixbook, but Harry was afraid that using it would encourage his godfather to take unnecessary risks. So, he forgot about it when the time came to check if Sirius was home or at the Ministry.
Sirius' Story Carried A Lot Of Deeper Lessons That The Movies Completely Missed
Sirius' Ending Connected With The Greater Themes Of Harry Potter
Not only are these changes an injustice to Harry since he carried the blame forSirius' death in theHarry Pottermovies, but they reduce the thematic significance of the man’s story. The characters inHarry Pottercan rarely be defined as just heroes or villains, with Harry and Voldemort being the exceptions. Sirius wasn’t a bad man, and the fact that he chose to turn away from his family’s pure-blood mania says a lot about his overall goodness. However, the fact that his downfall was the direct result of his poor treatment of a house-elf is a reminder that escaping unconscious prejudices isn’t so easy a task.
The fact that Sirius' downfall was the direct result of his poor treatment of a house-elf is a reminder that escaping unconscious prejudices isn’t so easy a task.
Dumbledore warned Sirius that Kreacher deserved kindness, but he didn’t listen. Molly told Sirius that he couldn’t think of Harry as a replacement for James, but he didn’t listen. Harry told Sirius that the way he and James had treated people while in school wasn’t just young boys having fun, but he didn’t listen. Sirius Black was still a hero in the end since he gave his life to protect Harry. However,his book ending was still a cautionary tale about the risk of leaving hidden biases and beliefs unchecked. Comparatively, Sirius' story in theHarry Pottermovies was frustratingly shallow.
Sirius Black’s Character Can Be So Much Better In HBO’s Harry Potter Remake
HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Has Time To Bring The Coolest Details Of Sirius' Story To The Surface
Sirius' story in theHarry Pottermovies is a perfect example of why HBO’s TV remake could be so valuable. The films simply didn’t have time to include the nuances of various characters' storylines, which meant that the themes and lessons of Sirius' ending were sacrificed to focus on stronger elements of the plot. However, theHarry Potterremake will have a lot more time to really dive into the nitty gritty, which means a book-faithful version of Sirius’s character will be brought to the screen.
Ironically, Regulas died while sacrificing his life for Kreacher, while Sirius met his end because of his poor treatment of the house-elf.
This will be especially interesting since theHarry Potterremake can dive into Sirius' past through flashbacks, showing what life had been like for him and his brother, Regulus. The younger Black sibling chose to join the Death Eaters, while the older one joinedthe Order of the Phoenix. However, ironically, Regulas died while sacrificing his life for Kreacher, while Sirius met his end because of his poor treatment of the house-elf. It’s a tragically poetic story that rests between the lines of theHarry Potterbooks, butthe remake can finally bring it to the surface, making Sirius' character even better.
Harry Potter
Cast
Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did.
