Skip to content

MuggleNet

  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Site
    • Contact Us & FAQ
    • History
    • Meet the Team
    • MuggleNet Live!
    • Press
    • Publications
    • Special Projects
    • Volunteer with Us!
    • Year in Review
  • Podcasts
    • Alohomora!
    • Full Circle
    • LITHAPPENS
    • Potterversity
    • Promptly Potter
    • SpeakBeasty
  • Harry Potter
    • Book Quotes
    • Book Series
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Film Series
    • Hogwarts Library
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • Fantastic Beasts
    • Book
    • Coloring Books
    • Film Companions
    • Fantastic Beasts Film Quotes
    • Film Series
    • Little Things
    • Music
    • Video Games
  • The Quibbler
    • Owl Post
    • Bathilda’s Notebook
    • The Department of MYTHteries
    • The Dirigible Plum
    • Into the Floo
    • Muggle Studies
    • The Pensieve Papers
    • The Three Broomsticks
    • April Fools’
    • The Quibbler Vault
  • The Daily Prophet
    • Book Trolley
    • Editorials
    • Event Reports
    • Exclusive Interviews
    • Features
    • Giveaways
    • Listicles
    • Merchandise Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • Television Reviews
    • Theater Reviews
    • Wizolympics
  • Muggle World
    • Charity
    • Exhibitions
    • J.K. Rowling
    • MinaLima
    • Quadball
    • Studio Tours
    • Theatrical Play
    • Theme Parks
    • Wizarding World Digital
  • Fans & Fun
    • Crazy Caption Contest
    • Fan Focus
    • Fandom
    • Fandom Sortings
    • Fandom Timeline
    • Fun Lists
    • Games and Trivia
    • GNOMEs
    • Potter DIY
    • Potter Weddings
    • #PotterItForward
    • Rosmerta’s Recipes
    • Song Parodies
    • Wizard Rock
    • Wizarding Wordle
  • Editorials / The Daily Prophet

Three Sets of Canon – Part 2: Movie Canon

by Haley Lewis · September 20, 2016

This is the second part of my three-part series of why the Harry Potter universe has three set realities of canon. There is strict book canon, movie canon, and most recently, theater canon. This is, of course, my personal opinion on how I believe canon works. What I am trying to explain is how all the new Harry Potter content fits into existing canon, and how each has its own brand of canon.

Part 2: Movie Canon

 

Fantastic-Beasts-And-Where-to-Find-Them

 

hp movie posters

 

The Harry Potter movie series is, in my opinion, a great adaptation of the book series. They are still just an adaptation because the movies do not follow the same logic or timeline as the books, but being accepted and produced by J.K Rowling gives them their own canon in the wizarding world. These films have a separate reality from the books. The upcoming film trilogy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will also be classified as movie canon as opposed to book canon. Even though the screenplays of these films are being written by J.K Rowling herself, they are based off the companion textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Another reason why Fantastic Beasts should not be accepted as book canon is because these movies already seem to be following the tropes and style of the Harry Potter movies. For example, Newt used the spell Lumos Maxima in the trailer. This spell is not canon in the Harry Potter books but was used in the Prisoner of Azkaban film. Another example of how it differs from the source is that in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them textbook, it’s mentioned that Newt graduated Hogwarts, although trailers have suggested that he has been expelled in the films, which seems to solidify these films’ place in the movie canon.

The past eight movies in the Harry Potter franchise have some rules and plot points that are specific to only the movies and would be classified as movie canon only. These are not things that were left out but completely changed or added in the movies.

Examples of this would be:

  • The ages of Snape, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter
  • Harry’s eyes being blue
  • Spells such as Lumos Maxima
  • Ron joining the Quidditch team in his sixth year
  • The random girl Harry has a crush on in the train station in Half-Blood Prince
  • The character Nigel
  • Neville having a crush on Luna Lovegood
  • Harry being able to hear and feel Horcruxes even in the absence of some of Voldemort’s childhood memories
  • Snape dying in the boat house
  • Goyle dying in the Room of Requirement
  • Voldemort hugging Draco (classic)
  • Voldemort molting away when he dies
  • James Potter being a Seeker
  • The shrunken head in Prisoner of Azkaban 
  • Padma Patil being in Gryffindor
  • Hagrid not being able to spell “Happy Birthday”

Even though there are so many differences, we as a fandom have still accepted these movies. The movie canon gave us our first adaptation of Harry Potter. It may have changed some of the minor plot details, but at the same time, it gave us a rich new way to view the story. As this canon expands in the next couple of years, I hope we can all see it as an exciting new chapter in the Harry Potter universe as a whole. I’m personally very excited for this expansion, and for whatever the future holds for movie canon in the wizarding world.

Be sure to check out Part 1 where I discuss book canon.

Social:

  • Next story “A Right to Families”: Read Rowling’s Full Lumos Gala Speech
  • Previous story Can You Guess the “Harry Potter” Film from These Movie Stills?

MuggleNet Archive

Important Dates

September 2025

Mon, Sep 1

Harry and Ron travel to Hogwarts via Ford Anglia
Recurs yearly

1992

Harry's first ride on the Hogwarts Express
Recurs yearly

1991

Hermione receives Time-Turner
Recurs yearly

1993

MuggleNet Live! 2017: Nineteen Years Later
Recurs yearly

2017

Tue, Sep 2

Faux Moody transfigures Draco into a ferret
Recurs yearly

1994

Gregorovitch is murdered by Lord Voldemort
Recurs yearly

1997

Harry gets the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book
Recurs yearly

1996

Trio breaks into the Ministry of Magic and acquires Slytherin's locket
Recurs yearly

1997

Wed, Sep 3

Harry buries Alastor Moody's magical eye
Recurs yearly
Harry's first detention with Professor Umbridge
Recurs yearly
Lockhart lets Cornish pixies loose in class
Recurs yearly

1992

Thu, Sep 4

Ellie Darcey-Alden's birthday
Recurs yearly

Young Lily Evans

Hermione forms SPEW
Recurs yearly

1994

Moody's first DADA lesson
Recurs yearly

1994

Fri, Sep 5

Harry hears the Basilisk in the walls for the first time
Recurs yearly

1992

Ron's wand backfires as he tries to curse Malfoy; Eat Slugs!
Recurs yearly

1992

Sat, Sep 6

Harry's first potions class, where he loses 5 points for Gryffindor
Recurs yearly

1991

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide, Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, & Power, Politics and Pesky Poltergeists (short stories; e-book) released - 2016
Recurs yearly

2016

MuggleNet receives JKR Fansite Award
Recurs yearly

2004

It’s high time I paid homage to the mighty MuggleNet. Where to start? I love the design, (I currently favour the ‘Dementor’ layout), the polls (I actually voted in the ‘Who’s the Half-Blood Prince?’ one), the pretty-much-exhaustive information on all books and films, the wonderful editorials (more insight there than in several companion volumes I shall not name), 101 Ways to Annoy Lord Voldemort (made me laugh aloud), the Wall of Shame (nearly as funny as some of the stuff I get)… pretty much everything. Webmaster Emerson, Eric, Jamie, Damon, Ben, Matthew, Rachel, Jaymz and Sharon, I salute you.

http://web.archive.org/web/20040907101729/http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/fansite_view.cfm?id=15

Sun, Sep 7

Dumbledore shows Harry his first Tom Riddle-related memory: Bob Ogden's visit to the Gaunts
Recurs yearly

1996

Hugh Mitchell's birthday
Recurs yearly

Colin Creevey

Toby Jones's birthday
Recurs yearly

Voice of Dobby

MuggleNet podcasts are sponsored in part by Secretlab.

Thanks to its research-backed ergonomic design, including a proprietary 4-way adaptive lumbar support system, the Secretlab TITAN Evo Harry Potter Edition will comfortably support you even when you’re up to no good.

Did You Know

Term at Hogwarts begins on September 1.

Potter History

January 23, 2005 – The length of Half-Blood Prince was revealed on Barnes & Noble and Amazon websites.

Potter Quote

“Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can’t even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!”

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fansite.
Please email us if you have any questions or concerns.
© 1999–2025 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Terms of Use | Feedback


MuggleNet is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and Bookshop.org's affiliate program, affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and bookshop.org.