20 Things That Almost Completely Changed Harry Potter Movies

2. Peeves

Peeves the Poltergeist was of course originally intended to appear in the first film, and the filming process got as far as casting the dearly departed Rik Mayall who apparently filmed some scenes before the character was unceremoniously cut. Some fans were understandably irate, as the character was something of a fan-favourite anti-hero, and Mayall's anarchic comic sensibilities would have been perfectly suited. He'd already played a similar archetype in Drop Dead Fred, and he could have brought some naughty humour to the role. Sadly, no footage exists, as Chris Columbus and David Heyman had planned to CGI him into the film - though in the knowledge that he wouldn't make the theatrical cut. He was intended to be included in that manner in Chambers, and then subsequently re-added to Philosopher's Stone for the DVD release, but he didn't make the final cut. Mayall subsequently claimed he didn't find out that he was cut from the final cut until he saw the movie, but it seems a little unlikely that he wasn't aware of the choice to demote him initially to the sequel.