HBO's Harry Potter TV show is repeating a mistake that the movies made with its casting, but there's still hope that it can be fixed. While the Harry Potter movies are still beloved today, they aren't exempt from criticism. There are a handful of ways the Warner Bros films got things wrong, and it's precisely this that makes the idea of a TV remake so intriguing. Some of the key aspects from the Harry Potter books that the movies cut or altered can finally be brought to the screen far more faithfully. However, in some ways, HBO's remake is off to a somewhat rough start.

Though we are still a long way off from the Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley had finally been cast. They will be played by Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout, respectively, and, so far, it seems as if they really fit the bill. However, I'm a bit surprised to see that, like Daniel Radcliffe, McLaughlin doesn't appear to have green eyes.

HBO's New Harry Potter Actor Doesn't Have Green Eyes

Dominic McLaughlin Is Another Blue-Eyed Potter

Radcliffe was the perfect Boy Who Lived in the original Harry Potter movies in nearly every way. However, a frustrating factor is that this actor didn't have green eyes. It's repeatedly stated in the Harry Potter books that Harry greatly resembles his father, except for his bright green eyes. These are Lily's eyes, and this connection between mother and son is profoundly important to the overarching story. Unfortunately, Radcliffe's eyes weren't only blue, but they bore no resemblance to the brown eyes of the actors who played Lily Evans in the Harry Potter movies.

HBO's Harry Potter remake was a chance to fix the uneven continuity of the Harry Potter movies. Unfortunately, the new TV show seems to be repeating the same old mistakes, since McLaughlin doesn't have green eyes either. Though this young new star will surely make an excellent Harry Potter, just as Radcliffe did, it's a bit frustrating that the key traits of the book characters weren't prioritized. Luckily, times have changed since the Harry Potter movies were made, so there may still be hope that McLaughlin's on-screen character will look the way he is supposed to.

Fixing Dominic McLaughlin's Eye Color Should Be Easier Than It Was For Daniel Radcliffe

TV Magic Is A Little Easier To Pull Off These Days

Radcliffe's eye color didn't go unnoticed by the creative minds behind the Harry Potter movies. The actor was famously meant to wear green lenses when he first stepped into his role in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but he suffered an allergic reaction during the first days of filming. It was ultimately decided that the on-screen Harry would have blue eyes. As the movies continued, the characters made their comments about Harry and Lily having the same color eyes, and it was essentially expected that audiences would ignore the fact that this wasn't true.

We can hope that McLaughlin won't have the same allergy that Radcliffe did, and that green s will be used for the Harry Potter TV show. However, even if the costume department doesn't want to force this young actor to stick lenses in his eyes, an alternative should be much easier today than it was back in the early 2000s. Digitally altering McLaughlin's eyes to appear green may still be arduous, but such a thing isn't unheard of in the realm of fantasy TV.

Digitally altering McLaughlin's eyes to appear green may still be arduous, but such a thing isn't unheard of in the realm of fantasy TV.

Overall, it can be hoped that Warner Bros learned a lesson here. At the very least, whoever is cast to play Lily Evans should have the same eye color as McLaughlin. Though blue eyes for Harry and Lily isn't book accurate, this would be preferred to having actors with different colored eyes. Although it's a small detail, audiences will notice if the Harry Potter remake consistently tells them that these characters share this trait, while the actors clearly don't.