Why are the Marauders so much older in the movies than in the books?

ORLANDO, FL - JUNE 18: In this handout photo provided by Universal Orlando Resort and taken June 13, 2014, today June 18, Universal Orlando announced that The Wizarding World of Harry Potters Diagon Alley will officially open on July 8, allowing guests to experience even more of Harry Potters adventures in an all-new, magnificently-themed environment. Located in the Universal Studios Florida theme park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley will feature shops, dining experiences and the next generation thrill ride, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. The new immersive area will double the size of the sweeping land already found at Universals Islands of Adventure, expanding the spectacularly themed environment across both Universal theme parks and guests can journey between both lands aboard the Hogwarts Express. For additional information, visit www.UniversalOrlando.com/WizardingWorld. (Photo by Sheri Lowen/Universal Orlando Resort via Getty Images) /

The Marauders were not that old in the books, they were in their early thirties and James and Lily Potter died at much too young of an age. So why did the movies change it?

For many fans, the Marauders are some of their favorite characters in the entire Harry Potter series and then there are the movie versions of the characters. It isn’t that the movies do a bad job of giving us the Marauders but rather that we just don’t really get the same characters in the movies.

James and Lily Potter died when they were 21 years old. In the movies, they’re clearly older and have Harry a lot later after they leave Hogwarts which then means that Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin are all older by extension. It’s not that serious of a change but it doesn’t make that much sense.

When you think about it, we’re supposed to meet Sirius and Remus when they’re around 31 years-old. Gary Oldman, who played Sirius Black, was 46 years-old when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban came out and so they barely even tried with that.

Does aging then fifteen years help with the overall storyline the movie was going for? Not really, it’s not like they addressed it at all and so, instead, we’re just supposed to think that actors who are nearly twenty years older are just the same ages as in the novels?

Whatever the reasoning, it’s a bit confusing but then again, maybe they’ll explain it when we finally get the Marauders series we all want.

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Do you like the change or do you think that the Harry Potter movies should have kept the Marauders the same age as they were in the books? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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