Is the Whomping Willow in Hogwarts Legacy? Writer reacts to 'rookie error'
Forget magic - make sure your history skills are up to scratch too!
With the Fantastic Beasts films, the Cursed Child play and several online short stories, the Harry Potter lore is getting awfully complex.
Luckily for fans who take continuity seriously, it seems as if the writer for Hogwarts Legacy has done his wizarding homework concerning one of the Harry Potter universe's most famous flora.
Read on to find out whether the Whomping Willow is the new Harry Potter game, and how this relates to the overall timeline.
This article is part of our free Hogwarts Legacy walkthrough guide. To unlock your complete companion to the game.
Is the Whomping Willow in Hogwarts Legacy?
No, the Whomping Willow is not in Hogwarts Legacy.
The topic caused confusion among fans, as the terrifying tree can be seen quite clearly in promotional artwork for the game:
However, the Whomping Willow does not appear in the game itself as Hogwarts Legacy is set in the 1800s, nearly a century before the Whomping Willow was even planted.
This was confirmed by Hogwarts Legacy writer DC Allen, who described the incident as a "rookie mistake".
As Allen states above, neither the Whomping Willow nor the Shrieking Shack were around in the 1800s. The Whomping Willow was only planted in the 1970s to conceal the secret passageway to the Shrieking Shack, which itself was only built so that Remus Lupin had a place to go where he would not hurt people when he turned into a werewolf while he was a student at Hogwarts.
So there you go, A History of Magic lesson for your right there - more details can be found in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book. Good to know the game's story was in good hands!
Read more on Hogwarts Legacy:
- Hogwarts Legacy review – our full verdict
- Hogwarts Legacy potions – all recipes to know
- Hogwarts Legacy plants – what do they do?
- Hogwarts Legacy level cap – how to spent talent points
- Hogwarts Legacy trophies – the achievements you need
- Hogwarts Legacy release date – staggered launch explained
- Hogwarts Legacy cast – Simon Pegg and more
- Hogwarts Legacy house sorting quiz – take the text
- Hogwarts Legacy character creator – customisation revealed
- Hogwarts Legacy common rooms – tour all four
- Who is Phineas Nigellus Black? Sirius ancestor explained
- Hogwarts Legacy year – when is it set?
- Hogwarts Legacy multiplayer – is it co-op?
- Hogwarts Legacy Switch – handheld version explained
- Hogwarts Legacy PC requirements – the specs you need
- Hogwarts Legacy Deluxe Edition – price for early access
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