The Harry Potter reunion special episode, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, will stream exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in India. The reunion episode will premiere on Prime Video on January 1, 2022, at 2:30 pm in India. One can also find all the eight Harry Potter movies on Prime Video.
The upcoming reunion features the three main leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson and will also include Helena Bonham Carter and Robbie Coltrane among others.
Filmmakers David Heyman, Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and David Yates will also join the special episode. The author of the Harry Potter franchise, J.K. Rowling won’t be featured in the reunion episode in the wake of the controversy related to her comments about the trans community. While the Harry Potter novel series has a total of seven books, the live-action adaptation was released in eight parts. All the films have been a success financially and critically, making the franchise one of the major Hollywood “tent-poles” franchises. Six of the eight films were nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards.
Among the actors who will be conspicuous by their absence are:
Richard Harris: The wizarding world of Harry Potter would not be nearly the place it is without Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. He guides Harry throughout his time at school and beyond in his fight against Voldemort. The actor who originally filled the role in the first two films, Richard Harris, died after Hodgkin’s disease in 2002.
Richard Griffiths: Uncle Vernon may be one of the most despised characters within the Harry Potter series, but the role was brought to life by the beloved Richard Griffiths. He passed away in 2013 after suffering complications from heart surgery and was remembered by many as a wonderful man with talent beyond measure.
Elizabeth Spriggs: The paintings within Hogwarts school make the school a living, breathing entity. One such painting is of the “fat lady,” and the original actress to essay the role was legendary stage actress Elizabeth Spriggs. She died in 2008.
Verne Troyer: Harry Potter features wizards, witches, creatures, elves, mythical animals. One such role within the series is Griphook, a goblin who works at Gringott’s Wizarding Bank, played by the legendary actor Verne Troyer. Troyer was not only known for playing Griphook, as his performance in “Austin Powers’ ‘ also had a major impact on the entertainment industry. He left Earth in April 2018 after a hospital stay for alcohol abuse.
John Hurt: Any fan of the Harry Potter series knows that wand selection is a very serious business, and no wandmaker had the influence quite like Mr Ollivander. “The wand chooses the wizard, Mr Potter. It’s not always clear why,” Ollivander said to the young Harry Potter, and, in an instant, an iconic scene from the film series was born. The beloved wandmaker was brought to life by the BAFTA award-winning actor John Hurt, who sadly died in 2017 from pancreatic cancer.
Rob Knox: He brought Marcus Belby alive. At the young age of 18, actor Rob Knox was fatally stabbed in South East London in 2008. As noted by The Guardian, Knox was killed by 22-year-old Karl Bishop outside a club. Bishop seriously injured four friends who were accompanying Knox at the time, one left with permanent spine damage. Bishop was sentenced to life in prison for the act, but the tragedy left a huge hole in the Harry Potter world and beyond. Just a handful of days before his death, Knox had wrapped filming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince — the film’s premiere would later be dedicated to him.
Alan Rickman: The famed actor donned the role of Severus Snape, the man who gave his life to protect Harry Potter. Distinct in his dress, his dialect both drawn out and sharp as a sword, he is, without question, a staple character in the series, who was brought to life on screen by actor Alan Rickman, who sadly died from cancer in 2016. Co-stars , including Daniel Radcliffe, shared their memories of the late actor. “As an actor he was one of the first of the adults to treat me like a peer rather than a child,” he wrote.
Robert Hardy: The beauty of the Harry Potter film series was its ability to bring storied British actors all together on screen, and the films were certainly made better from Robert Hardy’s presence. The man who brought Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge to life, Hardy was a treasure of British cinema and stage, who died in 2017 at the age of 91.
