Summary

  • The Fred Weasley death in the Harry Potter movies was changed and given less emotional impact compared to the book, leaving fans disappointed.
  • The Harry Potter movies made several changes to the Weasley twins' characters and storylines, omitting important moments and comedic scenes.
  • J.K. Rowling herself expressed regret over Fred Weasley's death, acknowledging that it was a wrong move and apologizing to fans on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Considering how the Harry Potter movie treats the adaptation of the Fred Weasley death, it can be easy to forget which Weasley twin dies in the franchise. The Harry Potter books, which debuted in 1997, make a game out of confusing the identical Weasley twins, but in terms of which Weasley twin dies, Fred is the unfortunate casualty. In the first book (and movie), the world meets the Weasley twins, Fred and George. Ron’s older brothers were Hogwarts’ trouble-makers but in a fun and harmless way – they were pranksters known for their sense of humor.

The twins were pretty much inseparable, and very loyal to their friends, helping Harry in any way they could. Unfortunately, only one Weasley twin survives until the end of Harry Potter. In the major Weasley twin's death moment, Fred was killed during the Battle of Hogwarts. George never fully got over Fred Weasley's death — even naming his first son after him. The question of which Weasley twin dies was one of the most heartbreaking moments in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book, but the movie adaptation changed it, and in the process took away most of the scene's emotional impact when it plays out in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

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How Harry Potter’s Movies Ruined Fred Weasley’s Death

Fred and George at the Dursley's in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

In the book, Fred and George were assigned to defend Hogwarts’ secret passages, and when the Death Eaters forced their way in, Fred fought next to his older brother Percy, who had just ended his affiliation with the Ministry of Magic and combated his former boss, Pius Thicknesse. Fred turned to his brother and was interrupted mid-sentence by an explosion, and the group (Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and Percy) flew through the air in different directions. After the initial shock, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry realized he was half buried in the wreckage of a corridor, and that’s when he heard “a terrible cry that pulled at his insides,” foreshadowing which Weasley twin dies.

He saw “three redheaded men grouped on the ground”, and heard someone shouting in denial. Percy was shaking Fred’s body, and Ron was kneeling beside them. Rowling’s wording of the Fred Weasley death scene makes it even more heartbreaking, describing Fred’s eyes as staring without seeing. Percy didn’t leave Fred’s side until Harry helped him move the body somewhere safer, and he was later moved to the Great Hall, where his family and friends mourned over him. However, the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 completely changed the Fred Weasley death.

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How Fred Weasley Dies In The Movie

Fred and George Laughing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Just how did Fred Weasley die in the movie? One twin is seen being disarmed by a Death Eater, and due to the short scene, it’s believed Fred was being attacked – but it was actually George (who was wearing a purple jacket. Fred wore a green one, further prompting audiences to question who dies Fred or George). The Weasley twin's death scene isn't seen, instead cutting to his family mourning over him at the Great Hall when Harry, Hermione, and Ron enter the room. Though Percy is there, he’s just standing in front of his brother’s body, and instead, it’s their mom and Ron who kneel next to the body, with George being comforted by their dad. The Fred Weasley death is one of the saddest moments of the movie, outside of Snape's death, but doesn’t compare to the source material.

Given that the Weasley twins had their rightful place in the movies (though their involvement in the stories decreased as the movie series progressed) and they became fan favorites, it feels disrespectful that the Fred Weasley death was changed (and kind of ignored) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, more so as it happened seconds after Percy rejoined his family, making it even more heartbreaking for the Weasley clan. Although it’s understandable that some things have to be left out due to screen time or budget, which Weasley twin dies is one of those that should have been addressed as it was, or at least closer to it.

The Problem With Fred Weasley's Death Isn't Book Changes

Fred and George Weasley Prepare for the Battle of Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Changes made to Harry Potter canon and source material have been running rampant since the Fantastic Beasts franchise made its way to the screen. As well, with J.K. Rowling being the controversial figure that she is now, the changes that Warner Bros. made to the Harry Potter series are a welcome way of creating distance between the author and her product. Therefore, the Weasley twin's death scene being different from that of the book isn't the core issue here. There are plenty of changes that have been welcomed by fans.

Rather, the Fred Weasley death scene (or lack thereof) did a disservice to Fred as a character. The Weasley twins were introduced in the first Harry Potter movie and followed the Boy Who Lived on his journey until the end. Fred may not have been as integral a character as say, Ron or Hermione, but nonetheless, the Weasley twins (and the Weasley family as a whole) played a huge part in Harry's life. To have Fred Weasley's death depicted off-screen and then glossed over in a one-shot moment is an insult to the character's memory and everything he provided over the course of the series. The Harry Potter movies handled the Weasley twin's death scene horribly, and frankly, Fred deserved better.

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Harry Potter's Author Regrets Fred Weasley's Death

Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter

Which Weasley twin dies and the Fred Weasley death, in general, is a sore spot for most fans — and even the controversial author J.K. Rowling agreed it was the wrong move on her part. J.K. Rowling has expressed regrets in the past for the way the events of the Harry Potter series panned out, even questioning if Ron should've ended up with Hermione. However, the Fred Weasley death stands out as one of the more shocking moments of the series. In 2015, Rowling took to Twitter on the 17th anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, saying, "Today I would just like to say: I'm really sorry about Fred. *Bows head in acceptance of your reasonable ire*."

When prompted by another user asking about Lupin or Tonks, Rowling promised to apologize for one death per year on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. The Weasley family may have seemed like an impenetrable force, but the clan almost faced another death during Order of the Phoenix. Originally, Arthur Weasley was not supposed to survive Nagini's attack. However, Rowling decided that Harry had already lost too many father figures in his life, with the death of Sirius Black occurring towards the end of the book. The deaths of both Arthur Weasley and Sirius Black in the same year would've affected Harry tremendously in the long run — but which Weasley twin dies is no better.

Fred's Death Wasn't The Only Weasley Twins Change

It's no secret that the Fred Weasley death wasn't the only thing that the Harry Potter movies left out. In fact, the Weasley twins are a much more prominent force in the books than they are in the films. While the characters in the movie are there for critical moments of comic relief, there were plenty of hilarious Weasley twin moments that didn't make it into the film. For example, in The Sorcerer's Stone, the Weasley twins would constantly bewitch snowballs to hit Professor Quirrell in the back of his turban — meaning they were pelting Voldemort with snowballs.

Fred and George Weasley also provided a good amount of brevity in the creepiest scenes of Harry Potter. During The Chamber of Secrets, Fred and George thought the idea of Harry being the heir of Slytherin was hilarious, taking Harry through the castle and shouting "Make way for the heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through …". Fred and George also made a habit of torturing Professor Umbridge incessantly during Order of the Phoenix, something the film didn't highlight. Not even Dudley Dursley was free from their wrath as they fed him a Ton-Tongue toffee when picking up Harry for the Quidditch World Cup. The Weasley twins were a huge highlight of the Harry Potter series, making the Fred Weasley death scene sting even more.

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The Fred Weasley Death Wasn't The Only Negative Harry Potter Book Change

Though many changes from the source material are welcomed in the movie, there are quite a few changes from the Harry Potter novels when adapting them to the screen that did the films - or more accurately, specific characters - a disservice. Many of those changes actually surround the Weasely family, which is a shame since they are Harry Potter’s strongest support system in the franchise.

Other than Fred Weasley’s death scene, there are quite a few changes made to all the Weasley siblings that are to their detriment. For example, many of the most impactful lines of Ron’s in the books are given to other characters. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron is the one who stands up to Sirius Black, telling him the other wizard will have to go through him first if he wants to get to Harry, demonstrating his loyalty in the face of someone he has been shown to be deeply afraid of. Hermione gets the line instead.

Even going back to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ron contacts Charlie Weasley about helping Hagrid with his baby dragon, because Charlie works with dragons professionally. He makes the trip to Hogwarts himself. That is glossed over in the movie, but it’s something that shows how tight-knit the family group is that Charlie would respond to his little brother. It also demonstrates early that the Weasley family and Hagrid are allies, something that becomes more obvious as the war develops.

There’s also the lack of Ginny’s character development in the movies. Ginny is gradually made a larger and larger part of Harry’s life in the novels. She comes to not just be Ron’s little sister who has a crush on Harry, but a real friend to both Harry and Hermione as well. She teams up with the three friends on more than one occasion before Harry’s feelings for her are introduced to the reader. She’s shown to be a formidable witch with skills on par with Harry’s in many areas, but that doesn’t get highlighted as well in the movies as Ginny is sidelined in favor of giving other characters more screen time.

One very big change from the books to the movies also occurs as the result of Harry’s time with the Weasleys, though it isn’t specifically about one of the family members. When the group visits Arthur Weasley in the wizarding hospital St. Mungo’s, they don’t just see Arthur. They also run into Neville Longbottom who is there visiting his mother. It’s the first time that it’s made clear that Nevill’s mother isn’t dead, and it hits home just what Bellatrix Lestrange does to people that she doesn’t kill. Alice Longbottom can never live on her own again but has to be under constant supervision, and when Neville does have contact with her, she passes him bubblegum wrappers, but cannot speak with him anymore.

Most of these changes are made to help the flow of the movies and to streamline the story. The changes are understandable, to an extent. With a television series rebooting the franchise on the way, however, many Harry Potter points that were changed during the initial page-to-screen jump can be rectified and expanded upon to better serve the characters and the overall story.

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The Harry Potter HBO Show Can Redeem Fred Weasley's Death

Harry Potter's official HBO Max logo for the remake series

There is a new Harry Potter television show coming to HBO Max, and it has a chance to do something the movies never could accomplish — getting the death of Fred Weasley right. Each Harry Potter movie covered one book in the J.K. Rowling series, except for the last two which covered Deathly Hallows. However, that meant that the movies had to cover a full book in just over two hours of screen time. There were a lot of things left out from the books when Harry Potter came to the big screen. With the new series, there will be 10 seasons to cover the seven Harry Potter books, and that means it can include much more.

A key moment HBO's Harry Potter series can do justice thanks to its format is the death of Fred Weasley. While the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book was split into two movies, it still had to leave out a lot from the final Battle of Hogwarts. Many incidents from this final battle were condensed or omitted to fit the running time of the final movie. With the extended screen time to play with thanks to the episode count of each season, Warner Bros. can give these previously-watered-down-moments the attention they deserve, including — perhaps especially — when one of the Weasley twins died. Instead of just being a passing fact in the final battle, the HBO Max Harry Potter series could really hammer home the Fred Weasley death and give it the respect it deserves.

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Movie Poster
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
    Release Date:
    2011-07-15
    Director:
    David Yates
    Cast:
    Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, John Hurt, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman
    Rating:
    PG-13
    Runtime:
    130 Minutes
    Genres:
    Action, Adventure, Fantasy
    Writers:
    Steve Kloves
    Story By:
    J. K. Rowling
    Budget:
    $125 Million
    Studio(s):
    Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films
    Distributor(s):
    Warner Bros. Pictures
    prequel(s):
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
    Franchise(s):
    Harry Potter