We always return to the places where we’ve been happy, and for several generations, that place has been Hogwarts: Harry Potter is back with an ambitious TV series produced by HBO, and we’re finally ready to board the train from Platform 9¾ to embark on a new (or old) adventure. After months of anticipation, speculation, rumors (and controversy), the TV series adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books finally reveals its first images in a teaser trailer that is sure to spark discussion among fans and beyond. The clip was preceded by an image released on March 24, showing the protagonist from behind—the very young actor Dominic McLaughlin, cast to play the young wizard in the role previously held by Daniel Radcliffe—dressed as if about to participate in a Quidditch match.
As we see in these scenes, the aim of the new HBO adaptation is to take us back to the adventures and settings first depicted in the books and then in the eight films produced by Warner Bros. from 2001 to 2011, brought to life, of course, by new actors and with a style that reinvents the entire Wizarding World. The underlying story, however, remains the same: the young orphan Harry Potter discovers he is a wizard and that his destiny will lead him to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he will meet new friends—especially Ron (Alastair Stout) and Hermione (Arabella Stanton)— new professors (including John Lithgow’s Dumbledore, Janet McTeer’s Professor McGonagall, and Nick Frost’s Hagrid), as well as formidable enemies, such as the evil wizard Voldemort, who had killed his parents a decade earlier. The role of Voldemort, in particular, is currently being kept under the strictest secrecy.
Obviously, this teaser trailer for the Harry Potter series is already bound to stir up excitement and divide opinions: on one hand, there are many people who, being attached to the original saga, will be taken aback by something that alters their memories yet somehow replicates them at the same time; there are also those who are curious to see how such a vast and imaginative narrative will take on a new form, especially considering that the episodes will include many elements that were left out of the films. The series will premiere at Christmas 2026 exclusively on HBO Max, but it is already surrounded by controversy, not only due to the backlash against Rowling—who has been criticized and boycotted by many for her blatantly transphobic views—but also because of a climate of widespread hatred (one actor from the new cast, Paapa Essiedu, recently stated that he had received racist death threats for accepting the role of Professor Snape).
Regardless of whether the reactions are enthusiastic or critical, Harry Potter is a massive and ambitious project—even in terms of budget—and is bound to capture the media’s attention and spark conversation for at least the next ten years. And if that’s the case, we’re in for a treat.
