Why The Harry Potter Movies Cut Professor Binns

Harry Potter’s Wizarding World is very rich, with a variety of characters (both wizards and muggles), places, objects, and more, so it’s understandable that not all of them made it to the movies, such as Professor Cuthbert Binns. Readers all over the world were introduced to J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World in 1997 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, where they met the title hero along with his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, his enemy Draco Malfoy, and many of the teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Fans of the book series got to see what the Wizarding World would look like in real life thanks to the Harry Potter movie series, which began in 2001 and ended in 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. But like with many other books that are adapted to the big screen, many details and characters had to be left behind for different reasons, among those one of the most peculiar teachers at Hogwarts.

Professor Cuthbert Binns taught History of Magic at Hogwarts, and what made him special is that he was a ghost. One day, Binns fell asleep in the staff room and died in slumber, but he got up the next morning (as a ghost, of course) and continued teaching. Sadly, Binns didn’t make it to the Harry Potter movies.

Why Professor Binns Wasn’t In The Harry Potter Movies

Ghosts were mostly ignored in the Harry Potter movie series, with only Nearly Headless Nick (played by John Cleese) getting very little screen time and few dialogues, as well as the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw (Nina Young and Kelly Macdonald). Other ghosts such as the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar only appeared briefly, but Professor Binns was left behind entirely. Aside from being the only ghost serving as professor at Hogwarts, Binns was known for having the most boring class, with students often falling asleep.

Unlike other characters who weren’t included in the movies for either narrative or technical reasons, there isn’t an actual explanation on why Binns didn’t make it, but it’s believed it was because he wasn’t all that interesting – if the students couldn’t handle him, viewers wouldn’t have either. His most relevant moment in the books was explaining Harry’s class the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, a moment that was given to Professor McGonagall in the movie. Binns only appearances outside the books have been in the Game Boy Color adaptations, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and 5-7, and most recently in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Even though he has been pretty much forgotten, Professor Binns is and will always be part of the Harry Potter universe, even if his only legacy are his legendary boring classes.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3271 Articles Published)

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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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