HBO is back at it again – they (mostly) know how to do shows, alright. Here's everything you need to know about their version of Harry Potter.
The year: 2001. The first Harry Potter movie hits cinemas and with that, not only fans of the book series were caught in the whirlwind that was J.K. Rowling's magical world, but a whole new audience got swept up in Hogwarts' adventures.
HBO is picking up the franchise again and giving it the special treatment with a reboot show – new cast, beloved story, and more time to tell it and develop characteres. Here's all the info you need to know about the upcoming show.
HBO's Harry Potter Show Is Officially In Production
14 years after the movies ended, The Boy Who Lived gets another go. In July of 2025, HBO dove back into the wizarding world and also revealed their schedule. Filming is expected to last until the spring of 2026, and that's just the first season. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone will take the spotlight there before going on a short break and diving into season 2, covering The Chamber of Secrets. Every season is supposed to cover a book each, giving the stories more time to unfold as the movies could.
It'll still take some time for audiences to finally see the results: HBO confirmed a release in 2027. With the schedule HBO set, we might be in luck for a spring release.
The New Harry Potter Cast
The casting crew reportedly saw more than 32,000 children auditioning for the lead role before finding the new trio with Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, taking over from the legendary Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
Filming the whole show is expected to take a whole lot of time, though: eight to ten years, to be exact. To make sure the new cast doesn't fall behind on their studies, HBO reportedly built a temporary school – no, a real one, not Hogwarts – to make sure the child actors still have enough time for their education while reviving one of the most beloved franchises of all time.
It's not just Harry, Hermione and Ron roaming the new version of Hogwarts, though. Here's an overview of the confirmed cast:
- John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
- Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
- Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
- Nick Frost as Hagrid
- Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley
- Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley
- Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley
- Johnny Flynn as Lucios Malfoy
- Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy
- Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch
- Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell
- Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley
- Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan
- Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom
- Elijah Oshin as Dean Thomas
- Finn Stephens as Vincent Crabbe
- William Nash as Gregory Goyle
- Sirine Saba as Professor Pomona Sprout
- Richard Durden as Professor Cuthbert Binns
- Brid Brennen as Madam Poppy Pomfrey
- Leigh Gill as Griphook
- Warwick Davis as Professor Filius Flitwick
While some of the casting choices have sparked discussions – especially Paapa Essiedu and Arabella Stanton got a lot of heat for being cast as Snape and Hermione, make of that what you will – and the ongoing controversies surrounding author J.K. Rowling, there's still lots of love for the Harry Potter franchise.
The love never stops pic.twitter.com/hzQfAlSLoP
— Daily Harry Potter (@TheDailyHPotter) July 15, 2025
While some longtime fans are eagerly awaiting the reboot, there's others who have already said their goodbyes to everything Harry Potter because of Rowling's controversial takes. Back when Hogwarts Legacy came out, people were already calling to boycott everything that would fill Rowling's pockets, preferring to skip Hogwarts classes in favor of sticking to their morals. The show faces the same criticism, with rumors circling the internet about the true intentions behind rebooting the franchise: allegedly, Rowling had a falling out with Radcliffe, Grint and Watson after they clearly spoke out against transphobia. Rumor has it Rowling wants the franchise back and have it no longer associated with the faces of the legendary trio that are so publicly on a completely different page than her about trans rights.
What do you think? Are those rumors just fuel to the fire or do you think there might be a grain of truth to that? And will you be tuning in to the new version of Harry Potter? Let us know in the comments!