‘Harry Potter’ Reunion Special: HBO Fixes Emma Watson Photo Mistake

Martin Holmes January 4, 2022, 7:48 am

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Emma Watson and Emma Roberts — Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images; Amy Sussman/Getty Images

While fans shared their excitement over Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts on Saturday, some eagle-eyed viewers couldn’t help but notice a couple of crucial editing mistakes in the retrospective special.

The HBO Max feature reunited Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and more franchise stars to reminisce about their time working on the popular film series. However, in a segment where Watson shared memories of her childhood, a photo of a different actress appeared on the screen.

Viewers noticed that the photo purporting to be a young Watson was actually a photo of a young Emma Roberts, the actress best known for American Horror Story and Scream Queens. This was confirmed when fans found the throwback photo in question on Roberts’ Instagram account.

GUYS HELP ME THATS LITERALLY EMMA ROBERTS NOT EMMA WATSON ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ #ReturnToHogwarts #HarryPotter20thAnniversary pic.twitter.com/bLbXcCUpnh

— (@vee_delmonico99) January 1, 2022

HBO has since fixed the error, uploading a corrected version of the special to its streaming service. “Well spotted Harry Potter fans! You brought an editing mistake of a mislabeled photograph to our attention. New version is up now,” producers told The Hollywood Reporter.

That wasn’t the only mistake in the show, however. Harry Potter star Oliver Phelps, who portrayed one-half of the Weasley twins, was mislabeled as his twin brother James. And it was Phelps himself that pointed out the goof on social media.

“I guess after all those pranks over the years somebody decided to get their revenge,” he joked on Instagram, referring to the Weasley twins proclivity for pulling pranks in the books and films, including swapping places.

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A post shared by Oliver Phelps (@oliver_phelps)

Tom Felton, who played villain Draco Malfoy in the franchise, commented on Phelps’ post, claiming credit for the naming error. “It was my doing,” Felton stated alongside a snake emoji, representing Malfoy’s Slytherin house. While Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom, found the whole situation “hilarious.”