You’ve probably seen the TikTok clips or the grainy YouTube uploads. You know the ones—Harry and Ron standing in the Great Hall, or a slightly longer conversation between Lupin and Harry on the bridge that you don't quite remember from the theater. It sends every Potterhead down a rabbit hole. We all want more. Specifically, we want the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban extended edition because, let’s be real, Alfonso Cuarón’s vision for the Wizarding World was a total vibe shift that we weren't ready to leave after just two hours.
But here is the kicker.
If you go to Amazon or Apple TV right now looking for a "Director’s Cut" or an official extended version to buy, you’re going to be disappointed. It doesn't exist. At least, not in the way the Lord of the Rings fans have it.
The Mystery of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Extended Edition
So, why does everyone think there is one? It’s because of Freeform (formerly ABC Family). For years, when the Harry Potter weekend marathons aired on network television, they would shove deleted scenes back into the film to pad out the runtime and sell more ad spots.
That’s what people are usually talking about.
These "television cuts" are the closest thing we have to a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban extended edition. They aren't curated by Cuarón. They aren't polished with new CGI. They are basically the theatrical cut with a few deleted scenes awkwardly stitched back in.
It’s honestly a bit of a mess.
The transition between a finished scene and a deleted one is often jarring because the color grading hasn't been finalized or the sound mixing feels "thin." Yet, for a die-hard fan, those extra three minutes are pure gold. They offer a glimpse into a version of the movie that felt a bit more like the book.
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What’s actually in those extra scenes?
Most of the "extended" footage focuses on world-building rather than massive plot shifts. You’ve got the bird hitting the Whomping Willow. You’ve got Sir Cadogan—the chaotic, sword-swinging portrait—taking over for the Fat Lady after Sirius Black attacks.
Sir Cadogan is a fan favorite.
In the books, he’s a massive part of the security sub-plot. In the movie? He was mostly relegated to the cutting room floor, which is a shame because Paul Whitehouse played him with such unhinged energy. Seeing him challenge students to a duel just to let them into their dorms adds that specific Hogwarts "magic" that the third movie sometimes traded for a darker, more grounded aesthetic.
Then there’s the scene in the Great Hall. After Sirius breaks into the castle, the students are all sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags. There’s a bit of dialogue between Snape and Dumbledore that weighs a lot heavier if you know Snape’s back-story. Snape is basically seething, and Dumbledore is doing his usual "calmly-ignoring-the-obvious" routine. It doesn't change the plot, but it changes the mood.
Why Alfonso Cuarón Never Gave Us a Director’s Cut
Cuarón is a filmmaker’s filmmaker. He’s the guy who gave us Children of Men and Roma. When he stepped in to direct Prisoner of Azkaban, he wasn't interested in making a 3-hour epic that followed every beat of J.K. Rowling’s prose. He wanted to make a coming-of-age movie about puberty and fear.
He cut the fat.
That’s why the Marauders' backstory is so thin in the film. If you haven't read the books, you might not even fully realize that Harry’s dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew were the ones who wrote the map. It’s a huge omission. Fans have begged for a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban extended edition specifically to fix that.
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But Cuarón has been pretty vocal about the fact that the movie that hit theaters is his movie. He’s not a fan of the "extended edition" trend. To him, if a scene was cut, it was cut for a reason—usually pacing. The third movie is often cited by critics as the best in the series because it’s so lean and stylistically distinct. Adding 20 minutes of exposition about Animagi might satisfy the lore-hounds, but it would kill the momentum of Harry’s internal journey.
The "Ultimate Edition" Confusion
If you go looking for physical media, you might find the "Ultimate Edition" Blu-ray sets released by Warner Bros. years ago.
Don't get your hopes up.
For the first two movies, Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets, the Ultimate Editions actually included extended cuts. They were great. They felt like new experiences. However, starting with Prisoner of Azkaban, the "Ultimate Editions" only included the theatrical cut plus a feature-length documentary called Creating the World of Harry Potter.
It’s misleading marketing.
The documentary is incredible—it covers the shift in tone and the creature design for the Dementors—but it’s not an extended movie. You're getting the same 142 minutes you saw in 2004.
The Fan-Made "Extended" Movement
Since Warner Bros. won't do it, the fans did.
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There are "fan edits" floating around the darker corners of the internet where people have taken the high-definition deleted scenes from the Blu-ray extras and edited them back into the main film. These are technically the only true versions of a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban extended edition that exist in high definition.
Some of these edits are surprisingly professional. They fix the color timing of the deleted clips to match the rest of the film's cold, blue-ish tint.
Is it legal? Technically no. Is it the only way to see the movie with Sir Cadogan and the extra Ron/Hermione bickering? Yes.
Why this movie matters more than the others
Prisoner of Azkaban was the turning point for the franchise. It’s where the kids stopped wearing robes all the time and started wearing hoodies. It’s where the stakes became personal rather than just "Voldemort is trying to come back."
Because it’s so beloved, the desire for an extended cut is higher than it is for, say, Goblet of Fire. People want to live in this specific version of Hogwarts forever. They want more of the Shrunken Heads on the Knight Bus. They want more of Emma Thompson’s chaotic Professor Trelawney.
Actionable Steps for the Completionist Fan
If you are desperate to see every frame of footage from this era, stop looking for a single "Extended Edition" file. Instead, follow this path to get the full experience:
- Watch the Blu-ray Deleted Scenes: There are about five main scenes. The most significant is the "Sir Cadogan" sequence and the "Finding the Fat Lady" extension.
- Hunt for the "TV Edit": If you have a DVR or a streaming service that carries the "extended" broadcast versions (like Peacock sometimes does during Harry Potter events), record it. This is the only place where the scenes are integrated into the film with a professional (though broadcast-quality) mix.
- Read the "Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 3: Creatures" Documentary: This is included in most 4K and Blu-ray box sets. It explains why certain things were changed from the book, which provides the context an extended cut usually would.
- Listen to the Soundtrack’s Unreleased Cues: John Williams wrote a lot of music for this film that didn't make the final cut or was edited down. Listening to the full score provides a "sonic" extended edition that hints at the darker atmosphere Cuarón was building.
The reality is that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban extended edition is a ghost. It’s a collection of fragments scattered across special features and television broadcasts. While we may never get a 3-hour masterpiece authorized by the director, the fragments we have tell a story of a movie that was almost much more "book-accurate" before it decided to become a cinematic classic instead.
If you want the most "complete" version of the story, you have to go back to the source material. The book remains the only place where the Marauders' backstory, the Quidditch Final, and the true complexity of the Patronus charm are fully realized.
Until Warner Bros. decides they want to print more money with a "25th Anniversary Director’s Cut" in 2029, these deleted scenes are your only window into the scenes that almost were.