8 Things That Movie and TV Show Editors Missed and the Mistakes That Still Made the Final Cuts
Some of the “slipups” were intentional…
Mistakes do happen, and the more work you do, the greater the chances are that you'll make one.
It is true that modern movies require a lot of post-production work, which, in turn, leads to mistakes.
Did you notice all of the mistakes made in some of the biggest blockbusters in recent years due to poor editing? We're all aware that errors occur.
When hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, you'd think people would pay even more attention to the finer points. In the realm of movie-making, however, the reverse is true.
In fact, the larger the film, the greater the number of errors. They aren't all horrible, and some of them can be downright funny.
In any case, fans would not want to miss any of them. Little aspects of the recording and editing process can sometimes go overlooked, from apparent continuity issues and costume failures to rogue coffee cups.
We were able to discover these not-so-subtle errors thanks to some keen-eyed viewers. You can never unsee them once you've noticed them.
As a result, we apologize for potentially spoiling the following TV series and movies (you can never watch them the same way again). So, are you ready?
Let us begin:
1. Harry Potter Reunion Special: Mistaken Emmas
The eagerly anticipated reunion, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, premiered on HBO Max in January 2022, a little over two decades after the debut of the first film in the series. Fans had been waiting for this moment for a long time, so it's reasonable that viewers didn't miss a single second of it.
And it only took one second for one viewer to spot an image at the start of the show that was supposed to be Emma Watson (who played Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise) but was actually a shot of Emma Roberts.
The producers quickly responded: "Well spotted, Harry Potter fans! You brought an editing mistake of a mislabeled photograph to our attention. The new version is up now."
HBO Max2. Don't Look Up
Although Adam McKay's 2021 Netflix film immediately captured everyone's attention when it aired in late December (it went to No. 1 worldwide on the streaming site within just a few days), there was some buzz about the picture for a completely different reason. Fans suspected a little editing error had crept in after a viewer observed a masked-up film crew during a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.
But don't get too excited—according to McKay, that frame was intentionally left in the final edit to portray the experience of filming during the coronavirus outbreak. "We left that blip of the crew in on purpose to commemorate the strange filming experience," Adam tweeted, adding, "#Don'tLookUp."
Netflix
3. Harry Potter Reunion Special: Twins
Yes, another photo goof was discovered after the Harry Potter reunion event aired—but to be fair, this mix-up is acceptable given that it involves identical twins.
Oliver Phelps acknowledged that the HBO Max special wrongly identified him as his twin brother, James Phelps, who played George Weasley in the popular film franchise.
"I guess after all those pranks over the years, somebody decided to get their revenge," he wrote on Instagram. He also added, "It was fantastic to be part of the HP reunion. Hope you all enjoyed it."
Tom Felton, who played villain Draco Malfoy, commented, "It was my doing. #weaslebee #returntohogwarts."
PinPep/Shutterstock
4. Braveheart
The 1995 film Braveheart, set in the late 13th century, followed Sir William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) as he rose to prominence during the First War of Scottish Independence. Fans were taken aback when they discovered a white vehicle parked at the back of the battlefield in one image, given that vehicles were not invented until the late 19th century.
Paramount Pictures
5. Game of Thrones
During the fourth season of HBO's blockbuster series Game of Thrones, fans were taken aback when they noticed a very modern-day Starbucks cup among the metal and wooden utensils they were used to seeing.
HBO made a statement in response to the now-famous 2019 episode, acknowledging the time-traveling cup, adding, "The latte that appeared in the show was a mistake." "Daenerys had requested a herbal tea," the network joked, referring to Emilia Clarke's character.
Unfortunately, if you're looking for the cup right now, it's been deleted.
HBO
6. Gladiator
Gladiator is another film set in ancient times that was a box office hit when it debuted in the early 2000s. Since the film is set around 180 AD, it's only natural that the majority of the cast wore battle-ready gear or period-appropriate dress.
That is, until fans noticed a man wearing a plain white T-shirt and pants in one brief photo of a Colosseum crowd—items we're betting members of the Roman Empire didn't have access to.
Universal Pictures
7. Cats
The cast ensemble, which included Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, and James Corden, was enough to have folks eager for some good mew-sic when the 2019 musical film, based on the 1981 stage adaptation, premiered.
Critics, on the other hand, were critical of the film, pointing out that the visual effects and editing were weak. Judi's very human hand was mistakenly left protruding out of her CGI fur-filled cat body, which was one notable case.
Director Tom Hooper revised subsequent versions of the film immediately after its premiere, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Warner Bros. Cats
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The character of Éomer is played by Karl Urban in the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers—except, as some fans noticed near the end, at one point, he isn't. While Karl's character is supposed to be riding a horse alongside his friends, the face of his stunt double was used instead.
Peter Jackson stated during the director's commentary for the film that they just didn't manage to replace the face before the film hit theaters.
Pierre Vinet/New Line/Saul Zaentz/Wing Nut/Kobal/Shutterstock
Movies are becoming more and more complicated, with hundreds of teams and thousands of people working on them. So the chances are that we will see many more of these mistakes in the future.
But the good thing is that they don’t make the movie any worse. In fact, they add charm to it.
