Harry Potter reunion producers admit they mistakenly used Emma Roberts’ pic

Fans have been going gaga over the Harry Potter 20th anniversary special Return to Hogwarts ever since it began streaming on New Year’s Day. The HBO Max special is streaming in India on Amazon Prime Video, receiving good reviews from both fans and critics. However, some fans spotted an error in the show where the makers had used the wrong picture to denote a young Emma Watson.

Several fans pointed out that right at the beginning of the show, in a segment where Emma–who played Hermione Granger in the films–talks about her childhood, we see a picture apparently of a young Emma. However, the picture belonged to a different Emma – the American actor Emma Roberts. As proof, many shared an Instagram post from 2012 in which Emma Roberts had shared the same picture.

The producers of Return to Hogwarts have finally reacted to the goof-up, admitting their mistake. In a statement released to Entertainment Weekly, the producers have said, “Well spotted Harry Potter fans! You brought an editing mistake of a mislabeled photograph to our attention.” The statement further read that they will be rectifying the error soon and uploading a corrected version of the special. “New version up shortly,” it read.

Return to Hogwarts marks 20 years of the release of the first Harry Potter film – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The special sees almost all of the cast and crew return to the film’s sets to share anecdotes and relive their memories of filming the eight films.

Also read: Harry Potter reunion goofs up, uses Emma Roberts’ pic instead of Emma Watson’s

A mini-controversy had erupted when the creator of the Harry Potter universe–author JK Rowling–had allegedly been snubbed from the special. However, the makers later clarified that they had extended an invitation to the author but her team decided against her participation. Hence, Return to Hogwarts included the author in the special with the help of archival footage that she shot back in 2019.