After a lengthy casting process and tight-lipped production, Harry, Ron and Hermione are finally headed back to Hogwarts. Today, HBO released the first teaser trailer for the new Harry Potter TV series, with a previously unannounced premiere date of Christmas 2026.
The preview for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – the first season of the show, based on the first of seven books by JK Rowling – introduces the three central characters: Harry (Dominic McLaughlin) and his friends Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton) and Ron Weasley (Alastair Stout), who meet as 11-year-olds on the train to their first year at wizarding school.
The two-minute spot, first premiered at a press event on Wednesday in London, also hints at several iconic moments from the book and 2001 film by Chris Columbus, including Harry’s first meeting with the half-giant Hagrid (Nick Frost), his trying on the Sorting Hat and his first Quidditch game as Gryffindor seeker.
McLaughlin, Stanton and Stout were cast, after an extensive search and open casting call for British children ages nine to 11, to play the central trio over several seasons, in relatively real time. Adult members of the cast include John Lithgow as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall and Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape. Succession writer Francesca Gardiner serves as showrunner of the series, which has been a tightly guarded production at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, since last July. Game of Thrones and Succession veteran Mark Mylod directs several episodes.
The multi-arc series, which will supposedly go into more details from the beloved books than the eight-film franchise, represents “the biggest streaming event in the history of HBO Max and arguably in streaming, period”, according to JB Perrette, the CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros Discovery. “It’s number one, two and three in many ways.”
The star of the original franchise, Daniel Radcliffe, recently made headlines when he said that McLaughlin would be better suited for the lead role than he was as a 12-year-old in 2001. “I’m sure Dominic is going to be better than me,” Radcliffe said. “I learned as I went. I look back on what I did now with a lot more kindness, and I find it less embarrassing now that I’m older. But I was very much learning how to do it for a long time on Potter.”
The adaptation of the beloved book series has already drawn intense scrutiny from some of the fandom, particularly in its casting of Essiedu, a Black actor, as Snape, played in the franchise by the white actor Alan Rickman. Essiedu recently revealed that he has received death threats over the role, and is using such backlash to “fuel” his performance.
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you,’” Essiedu told The Times. “It really matters. The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ While I hope I’ll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally. The themes that run through Harry Potter are of love triumphing over hate – of acceptance. And that’s why I’m doing it.”
There also been steady backlash towards Rowling’s many public anti-transgender comments. Rowling, whose expansive Harry Potter world – including the books, films, video games and theater – is worth an estimated £20bn ($25bn), advises the series as an executive producer. Lithgow, who plays Harry’s mentor Albus Dumbledore, said he’s been “stung” by criticism of her participation in a series with Rowling, as her books are “clearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry”.
Asked last April by journalist Matthew Belloni if Rowling’s views on transgender people made him concerned for the show, HBO’s chief content officer, Casey Bloys defended the decision. “It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them,” he said. “Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”
According to the trailer, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will premiere on HBO Max this Christmas, several months earlier than its projected air date of 2027, and almost 30 years after the first book (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) was published.
