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In the Harry Potter franchise, Professor Flitwick goes through a massive change in appearance. But why did the change even take place?
The Harry Potter movies are some of the most beloved films of the last 20 years. However, that doesn’t mean that the franchise isn’t without its inconsistencies. One example of this can be seen with the charms professor, Filius Flitwick. As fans have noticed over the years, his appearance in the first two films is wildly different from what is seen in the later movies. While the films did not explain why his look changed so much, a 2009 Twitter thread with actor Warwick Davis was able to shed some light on the mystery surrounding the wizard’s changing look.
Professor Flitwick is a part-Goblin wizard who graduated from Hogwarts and later returned as the charms professor and head of the Ravenclaw house. Flitwick is a highly skilled wizard and was also once a dueling champion. While his size may make him seem like he isn’t much of a threat, Professor Flitwick is actually a powerful wizarding warrior who took part in the first and second Wizarding Wars against Lord Voldemort. He also fought multiple Death Eaters to protect his students and won.
When he first appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he appears as a small, Goblin-like man, with a sprawling white beard that connects with his hair. He teaches the students, including Harry and his friends, the swish and flick method to conjure spells with their wands. Thanks to him, Hermione was able to learn the iconic levitation spell Wingardium Leviosa. Flitwick shows up again in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with the same appearance, but the character makes a fundamental change by the next installment.
Following the second film, Flitwick’s next appearance looks far less fantastical than what was seen before. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he appears without his massive beard and instead has a full head of brown hair parted down the middle. He also has a thick mustache replacing his beard and is wearing glasses. The change isn’t addressed in the films, but the students seem to know exactly who he is; this is because the creators cleverly melded two characters to create an amalgamized version of the professor.
According to Davis, the character he plays in Prison of Azkaban isn’t actually the charms professor. In reality, Flitwick didn’t appear in the third installment, so Davis was instead offered another role as a choirmaster, complete with a brand new character design. Following his completion of the film, the director of Goblet of Fire, Mike Newell, enjoyed the look so much that they agreed to integrate the style into Flitwick’s character. While it isn’t the most exciting reason for this change, it does give a great look at the creative process and how nothing is set in stone.
Warwick Davis’ turn as the skilled Professor Flitwick is still quoted by fans of the series. The best part about his iconography is even though his appearance changes, it doesn’t change the essence of his character. That’s due largely to how Rowling wrote the character and how Davis portrayed him. But no matter what he looks like, Flitwick will never stop reminding fans to swish and flick.
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