HBO Max Makes Major Editing Error in 'Harry Potter' Reunion Special The streaming platform has since re-edited the special before releasing an updated version.
By Emily Rella
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Even in a magical world, there can still be human error.
The long-awaited reunion special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwwarts, arrived via HBO Max on New Year's Day, bringing fans of the series back into the world of wizardry with special interviews and commentary from the original cast.
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger throughout the eight feature-film installments adapted from J.K. Rowling's novels, delighted fans by taking part and recounting memories. However, during one scene, superfans noticed a glaring mistake in one of the photos that was shown of Watson from her childhood.
The pic, depicting a young girl in Mickey Mouse ears eating at a table, was actually a snapshot of fellow actress Emma Roberts, who had posted the pic on Instagram nearly a decade ago. A slew of comments from eagle-eyed viewers have since deluged Roberts' original post, which now boasts more than 18,000 likes as of this writing.
"Emma went to Hogwarts before joining Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies," one user joked, referring to the fictional school depicted in Roberts' hit series American Horror Story.
"Just read about the mix up," another said. "How did hbo not fact check it? Crazy!"
HBO Max has since re-edited the special before releasing an updated version, which is available for streaming in four parts.
"Well spotted, Harry Potter fans! You brought an editing mistake of a mislabeled photograph to our attention," producers of the show told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. "New version is up now."
Return to Hogwarts is streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
