Think back to when you were just a kid and saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time. Be honest – the bit where Professor Quirrell takes off his turban to reveal Voldemort’s face on the back of his head scared you, right? It probably did, but for a generation of Harry Potter fans, it’s a good thing that the production team didn’t go with this alternate design for the Dark Lord, as they would’ve never slept again.
The face model for the two-headed villain seen below reveals that Voldemort was originally envisaged to have a much more monstrous appearance. The wide mouth with sharp teeth and animalistic eyes are far removed from the chilling but mostly human face that Harry saw in the Mirror of Erised in the movie.
Take a look at it in the following gallery, courtesy of Reddit user V391Pegasi:
It’s also interesting to note that this design for Voldemort doesn’t have a nose when the character’s face in the first film does. J.K. Rowling specifically describes the dark wizard as possessing two snake-lit slit nostrils, so fans have always had an issue with his depiction in TSS. Of course, this mistake was later rectified for The Goblet of Fire. When Voldemort’s resurrected there, Ralph Fiennes had his nose digitally removed to recreate the character’s memorable missing feature from the books.
Fiennes then played the Boy Who Lived’s nemesis for the remainder of the series, finally being defeated in a duel by Harry in The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. Not that this was the end of the terror he caused though, as stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child explored the dark legacy of the villain. It seems a strong possibility Warner Bros. might adapt it for the screen at some point, too, and rumors even say the studio wants Daniel Radcliffe to reprise his role for it.
Until we get something concrete on that front though, tell us, should this design have been used in The Sorcerer’s Stone? Sound off down below with your thoughts.
