The first trailer for HBO’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Season 1) is here and with it news the series will debut Christmas, 2026. In case you’ve been living under a rock, HBO are remaking the seven Harry Potter books into a TV series with a brand new cast. Most in he industry expected a 2027 release, but the series will hit HBO by the end of this year.
Check out the first trailer below, I’m sure it will all look very familiar if you’ve seen the films.
I think the trailer tries to highlight both what you are expecting and what’s new this time around. This is not just the movies, the lines and direction are a little different and here there are far more scenes added in that had to be cut from the film. In the trailer we can see Harry at a normal school, something we never saw in the films. At the same time, there’s Hagrid and Harry on their way to get the wand from Olivander at Diagon Alley.
Recently HBO boss Casey Bloys talked about how tight security has to be on this one. Snape actor Paapa Essiedu has reportedly had death threats, whether from unhinged fans or racists has not been made clear.
However, I think what I take from this series is the following.
There’s nothing new to see here, apart from what would be called deleted scenes in a special edition of a film. It’s the same story, very similar looking aesthetics and sets. Therefore, it does make me wonder, for a film series as timeless as the Potter films (they’re set in the 90’s) that currently exists in full HD, was there any need for this?
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The answer may be no and I’m sure there will be some who watched the films who won’t bother with the TV series. Yet, the thing is, HBO probably doesn’t care and neither they should. The rabid fan base, one of the biggest in the world, will eat this up. The fans will want to see what’s different even if they like the original better, and the fact we have more content to cover will also draw them in.
It can be a pointless exercise and it may become one artistically. However, in terms of making money, this is a sure fire hit. It’ll be massive and we all know it. My hope is that artistically they do strive for this to be the ultimate version of the story, as opposed to the movies being the quick hit version. I’ll definitely get interested in seeing if they properly cover all of Voldemort’s backstory in The Half Blood Prince, which was cut from the film.
The big worry on this series is the fact Bloys also stated they won’t be able to produce one season per year. Season 2 is already underway, but eventually it will slow down. If we average it out at two years per season across all seven seasons, then we are looking at 14 years. At that point Lithgow who plays Dumbledore will be 94, and the main cast of children will be in their mid 20’s. That’s where I see HBO maybe having to have more recasts than the film had to deal with.
What do you think of the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, coming this Christmas? Thoughts below.
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