When it comes to book-to-movie adaptations, it’s inevitable that certain aspects of the source material won’t make it onto the screen. After all, there’s only so much time filmmakers can dedicate to the story, and they need to cut less important details in favor of the more crucial ones. This is a problem the Harry Potter films faced, and unfortunately, some of the most interesting subplots got the axe because of it.
For example, the details surrounding the Marauders were largely cut from the film adaptations, leaving viewers with a lot of missing context when it comes to Harry’s father and his three best friends. Given how much their history impacts Harry’s timeline, it seems an odd choice to omit the Marauders’ background — though it doesn’t appear to have affected non-readers’ understanding of the movies. Here are 10 things the Harry Potter movies left out about the Marauders.
How Sirius Escaped From Azkaban
Given that the entire plot of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban revolves around Sirius Black escaping from prison, one would think the movie would eventually tell us how Harry’s godfather managed to break out of the supposedly impenetrable wizard prison. Sadly, that assumption would be wrong.
While the books explain that Sirius used his lessened human feelings as an Animagus to slip past the Dementors, the movies leave Sirius’ escape up to the imagination. They also neglect to mention that his ability to shift into a dog is how Sirius managed to stay sane during his confinement – and that the Weasley’s vacation photo in the Daily Prophet is the reason he knew to go to Hogwarts to find Pettigrew.
How Pettigrew Framed Sirius
While Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban does tell viewers how Pettigrew managed to frame Sirius for Lily and James’ murder, it doesn’t explicitly tell the story the way the book does – and that’s kind of a shame. The book reveals that Pettigrew staged his death and cut off his finger in order to make it believable, and while the movie tells us about the finger and that he framed Sirius, it doesn’t paint a clear picture of the exchange he had with Sirius the night James and Lily died.
The films also don’t mention why Pettigrew chose to live with a wizard family, but the novels do: He wanted to stay informed in case Voldemort rose again – something that would no doubt pose a threat to him after running away.
Lupin’s Connection To The Whomping Willow
The second movie introduces fans to the Whomping Willow, the violent tree on Hogwarts grounds that beats up the Weasleys’ Ford Anglia and destroys Ron’s wand in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. But while the films show the Whomping Willow, they don’t explain what it’s doing there – or that it was planted specifically because of Lupin.
This is just another part of Lupin’s backstory that’s omitted from the movies, but the gist of it is that Dumbledore allowed Lupin to transform in the Shrieking Shack while he attended Hogwarts. In order to prevent students from going to see where his howls and screams were coming from, the school planted the Whomping Willow to block the entrance to the building. Since the tree is basically impassible, it kept students safe and away from Lupin – and it protected his secret.
Why The Marauders Became Animagi
Sirius and Pettigrew being Animagi is one of the third film’s biggest twists, but the movie gives viewers zero insight into why these characters – and Harry’s father – illegally mastered the ability to become animals in the first place. In the third book, it’s revealed that Lupin’s three best friends learned to become Animagi so they could keep him company when he transformed into a werewolf, something that made the transition less painful for him.
This backstory is an important part of showing how close the Marauders were, and leaving it out takes away an emotional chunk of their backstory that the films would have benefited from including.
The Story Behind The Marauder’s Map
Speaking of pieces of the Marauders’ backstory that were left out of the third film, the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban never explicitly tells viewers that Harry’s dad and his friends are the ones who created the Marauder’s Map – even if it does drop plenty of hints about it.
From their knowledge of the map and their nicknames, one can figure out who the map’s creators are. But it’s a wonder why the film didn’t include the explanation of the map – along with the background of the Marauders – in its climax, just like the book did.
Why Sirius And Snape Hate Each Other So Much
Both the Harry Potter books and films make no secret of Snape and Sirius’ deep-seated hatred of one another, but the books give far more context for their relationship. The later films show Sirius and his friends bullying Snape, which many assume is the reason Snape is so hellbent on handing Sirius over to the Dementors. But there’s actually a darker reason these two can’t stand each other.
In the third book, Dumbledore explains that Sirius once played a trick on Snape that could have cost the Head of Slytherin House his life had James not intervened. When they were at Hogwarts, Sirius suggested that Snape go see what was happening in the Shrieking Shack – more or less delivering him to Lupin in his werewolf form, who surely would have killed him.
Sirius And James Once Lived Together
The Harry Potter movies don’t just leave out Lupin’s backstory; they also omit major components of Sirius’ history too. While it’s obvious from his feelings about Grimmauld Place that Harry’s godfather had a less-than-happy upbringing, the movies never reveal that Sirius actually ran away from home as a teen.
Not only did Sirius leave his Voldemort-supporting family behind, but he went to live with James for a while, something he admits to Harry while talking about how great James’ parents were. This is a minuscule detail to leave out, but it’s one that stresses the closeness of James and Sirius’ friendship.
That James Stopped Being A Bully
The fifth Harry Potter film includes the flashback scene where James and his friends bully Snape relentlessly in the Hogwarts courtyard. From that alone, many would conclude that James was a jerk — but the books reveal that the boy changed since that incident.
In the fifth novel, Harry makes a point of using Umbridge’s Floo network to contact Sirius and Lupin and ask them about the memory. They assure him that James grew up eventually, something that’s a comfort to both Harry and the readers. Unfortunately, that peace of mind is never given in the films.
Lupin’s Struggles With Tonks
Although Lupin’s relationship with Tonks is included in the movies, the books do a better job of fleshing it out — especially when it comes to Lupin’s reluctance to start a future with her.
In fact, in the book version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lupin attempts to join the Golden Trio on their quest to find Horcruxes in order to avoid the fact that Tonks is pregnant (and his fears that the kid will be a werewolf). This subplot is left out of the movies, possibly so Lupin wouldn’t be so unlikeable at the moment.
Pettigrew’s Life Debt
Perhaps one of the most disappointing omissions related to the Marauders is that of Pettigrew’s life debt. When Harry chooses to show mercy and save Pettigrew’s life in the third book, he discovers that a life debt is a powerful thing – and this actually turns out to be true when the final book comes along.
In the final novel, Pettigrew briefly considers showing Harry mercy at Malfoy manner, the result of his life debt — and the very thing that causes the silver hand Voldemort gave him to strangle him to death. This scene was left out of the film, likely for being too violent, so Pettigrew’s debt remains unpaid.
