# Harry potter and the Discontemporaneous Timeline? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370 "2005-08-10T00:38:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/1 "2005-08-10T00:38:40Z")
Am I just getting the wrong end of the stick, or is it actually going to be the case that Daniel Radcliffe (and indeed all of the junior cast), ageing as they are (in real time) are going to start looking too old for the parts they’re meant to be playing. or to put it another way, are the books/movies being cranked out fast enough to keep up with the progression of the fictional timeline? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/2 "2005-08-10T00:43:24Z")
Doesn’t seem like they are. From movie one to movie two there wasn’t that much of a growth spurt. But I was shocked to see how grown they looked for movie three. The definitely did not look 13 in those movies. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/3 "2005-08-10T00:59:37Z")
I think that was the movie that they _had_ to get out _right then_ though. You can look 16 when you’re 24 a hell of a lot easier than you can look 14 when yhou’re 21. And they looked young enough for the movie to play believably. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/4 "2005-08-10T01:22:45Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Doesn’t seem like they are. From movie one to movie two there wasn’t that much of a growth spurt. But I was shocked to see how grown they looked for movie three. The definitely did not look 13 in those movies. I think a lot of that had to do with the way they were costumed in that movie, though. Hardly any school robes. They were all dressed quite trendily, and current trends, not 1993 trends. If a group of people are all dressed similarly, it makes it harder to tell how old they are. Had they all been in their school uniforms, I’m betting it would have been easier for them to “pass.” I do think, however, that they’ll have no problem completing the films and looking like they’re in their late teens. It’s also not odd for somebody between the ages of 13 and 16 to suddenly look _old_ after a single summer. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/5 "2005-08-10T01:32:21Z")
I hear this a lot, but they’re not that much older than their parts. They averaging a year ahead. Radcliffe will be 16 for Order of the Phoenix, only a year ahead of schedule. If he’s 18 playing 16 in Half-Blood Prince, I doubt anyone will notice. The real question is, “Who has the stamina for all 6 movies.” Radcliffe seems happy to do it, but I don’t know about the other two. And Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) has been grumbling for awhile now he’s tired of it. Last time I checked, he still hadn’t signed on for Order of the Phoenix (though so far the only ones signed on officially are the Trio and Lucius Malfoy). ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-discontemporaneous-timeline/316370/6 "2005-08-10T01:44:29Z")
That should be “all 7 movies,” of course. I doubt Warner Brothers would refuse to do a Harry Potter, no matter how book 7 ends. 🆒