Whoops! Harry Potter: Return To Hogwarts Accidentally Used A Photo Of Emma Roberts, Not Watson
Somebody's got the wrong witch, carelessly casting erroneous delineation when it came to finding a childhood picture of Emma Watson to display in the "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts" special that dropped on HBO Max. Rather than showing a picture of Watson, who played the studious witch Hermione Granger in all 8 of the "Harry Potter" films, a throwback photo of actress Emma Roberts flashed across the screen instead.
Twitter Takes Notice
Because "Harry Potter" has such a dedicated fanbase, it's no surprise that people have quickly taken notice of the error, with members of the fandom pointing out the mix-up over on Twitter. Some are calling the mistake "embarrassing," while others find it absolutely hilarious.
GUYS HELP ME THATS LITERALLY EMMA ROBERTS NOT EMMA WATSON ☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ #ReturnToHogwarts #HarryPotter20thAnniversary pic.twitter.com/bLbXcCUpnh
— 𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕒 (@vee_delmonico99) January 1, 2022
Can't decide if this was on purpose to generate hate views (for promotion) or if it's a hilariously bad error by Warner Bros. in the production of their Harry Potter retrospective: They used a photo of actress Emma Roberts as a child instead of Emma Watson. 🤦â€♀️ pic.twitter.com/YYQjjhFoM7
— Wizarding Newsâ"¢ 🥳 (@HPANA) January 1, 2022
While it's a blunder to be sure, let's extend whoever made this mistake a little grace by keeping in mind that Hollywood currently has a surplus of Emmas, and sometimes kids kind of look alike and then grow up to look completely different as their future adult selves. Even as I wrote this, I accidentally found myself accidentally typing "Emma Stone" into Google Images in effort to look for pictures of Emma ... someone. Not to mention the fact that both Watson and Roberts have both portrayed iconic teenage witches, with Roberts playing cold-hearted mean girl Madison Montgomery in the "Coven" and "Apocalypse" seasons of horror anthology "American Horror Story."
Ultimately, it's not the most egregious error a person can make, but it's still a cautionary tale about double- and triple-checking things before you present them to the masses. This is also far from the first time someone has gotten actors mixed up, and is probably even a little more forgivable than confusing one actor with another on live television – as is the case with a reporter confusing Samuel L. Jackson for Laurence Fishburne to the former's face back in 2014.
Big yikes.
Unfortunate case of mistaken identity aside, if you're a "Harry Potter" fan, you can watch the stars of the beloved magical franchise reunite to revisit the legacy of the "Harry Potter" films and universe over on HBO Max right now, and see the magic (and mistake) for yourself.