While much remains unknown about the story of the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy, some fans believe they have uncovered the identity of a villain.
Fans dissecting the recent Hogwarts Legacy gameplay showcase believe that they have uncovered one of the game's villains. Even following last week's State of Play, very little is known about the title's story and characters, although some have speculated that the antagonistic dark wizard Loxias could appear in Hogwarts Legacy.
Hype for the Wizarding World RPG Hogwarts Legacy has ramped up aggressively since the March State of Play. This video revealed a great deal about the Hogwarts Legacy world, gameplay mechanics, visuals, and more. What fans can be sure of is that the game will take place about 100 years before the events of the Harry Potter books, in the 1800s, and that their custom character will be enrolled in Hogwarts as a late-arrival fifth-year student. As is the case with most stories taking place at the magical School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there is dark magic and evil-doers afoot, and it will be up to the young, novice students to take them down. Interestingly enough, it looks like Hogwarts Legacy will feature Unforgivable Curses, hinting that players might be able to align themselves with these mystery villains.
Related: Everything We Learned In Hogwarts Legacy's Gameplay Preview
Some Hogwarts Legacy fans believe that they have deduced the identity of one of these villains. As reported by VGC, a character by the name of Victor Rookwood makes a brief appearance in the State of Play trailer. Fans have made the connection between this character and Augustus Rookwood, a Death Eater who was mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This character later showed up amongst the other Death Eaters in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is believed that Victor Rookwood is a distant relative of this minor Death Eater.
When looking at this through the lens of how names and relationships were presented in the original Harry Potter stories, it seems very likely that these two are connected. Although few Harry Potter characters will be appearing in Hogwarts Legacy, surnames are often very important in this world, as the wizarding community is much smaller than the broader British population, and a great importance is placed on some of the more established families. Because of this smaller group of close-knit wizards, it's likely that several recognizable surnames will be appearing in the game, and that Rookwood is just one of them.
Having said that, it's possible that Hogwarts Legacy's Rookwood will not be a villain despite being the ancestor of a Death Eater. The Harry Potter books made efforts, particularly towards the end, to add more depth and nuance to their villains and heroes, so simply belonging to the same family doesn't necessitate evil goals. Hopefully, Hogwarts Legacy will be able to further build upon the complexity of the Wizarding World's conflicts.
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Editor’s Note: Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been accused of transphobia by those in the LGBTQ+ community. Although not directly involved in the development of Hogwarts Legacy, Rowling does stand to earn royalties from the game. We would like to reiterate our support for trans rights and that trans identities are valid. Support services are listed below for trans people impacted by discussions of transphobia.
Nick Rodriguez is a freelance gaming news writer for Screen Rant. He was drawn to video games and video game discussion since playing Spyro the Dragon on the PlayStation 1. More recently, his favorites have included Disco Elysium, Red Dead Redemption II, Kentucky Route Zero, and the Mass Effect series. Games like these and the powerful emotions they elicit are what inspire Nick to write about games professionally, with the ultimate goal of nurturing an appreciation of games as powerful works of art among gaming fans and beyond.