Here’s Everything We Know About HBO’s Harry Potter Remake
For better or worse, a new vision for Harry Potter is taking shape.
After years of radio silence, Warner Bros. is returning to Hogwarts, whether you want it to or not. The idea of rebooting Harry Potter will never not feel strange, but it’s an inevitable part of the studio’s efforts to keep the property alive. This time, Warner is taking the saga to the small screen: the Boy Who Lived will be reborn into a multi-season HBO series.
Production has been quietly ramping up for the past year, but with its cast of young actors finally taking shape, we’re closer than ever to seeing this new vision come alive. Here’s everything we know about HBO’s Harry Potter remake.
It’s back to the beginning.
What is the Harry Potter release date?
According to HBO CEO Casey Bloys, the Harry Potter series is still in early-ish development. With casting well underway, however, production should begin soon. At a Max showcase in 2024, Bloys revealed that the series is aiming to film in the summer of 2025. If all goes to plan, we can expect the series to premiere sometime in 2026 or, more likely, 2027.
Who is directing HBO’s Harry Potter remake?
HBO is keeping Harry Potter in the family. The studio chose Succession’s Mark Mylod to executive produce and direct episodes of the first season, while Francesca Gardiner, a writer and producer who worked on His Dark Materials and Succession Seasons 3 and 4, will serve as showrunner.
Who is in the cast of Harry Potter?
Arabella Stanton, Dominic McLaughlin, and Alastair Stout have been cast in HBO's Harry Potter reboot.
In May 2025, HBO unveiled the actors who will play Harry, Ron, and Hermione throughout their studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dominic McLaughlin was cast as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton is Hermione Granger. Each is largely unknown: Harry Potter will be Stout’s first onscreen role, while Stanton played the lead role in Matilda: The Musical on the West End. They won the roles after a casting search involving 30,000 young actors.
“The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen,” Gardener and Mylod said in a statement. “We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
The trio will join a group of established actors previously cast as the Hogwarts staff:
- John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore
- Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape
- Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall
- Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
- Paul Whitehouse ass Argus Filch
- Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell
Is J.K. Rowling involved in HBO’s Harry Potter remake?
Despite the controversy surrounding Rowling, the author remains “very involved” in HBO’s reboot.
Any updates on the Harry Potter reboot are inevitably soured by the transphobic elephant in the room: the creator of the series, J.K. Rowling, and the hateful rhetoric she’s touted for the past half-decade. It’s impossible to talk about Harry Potter without talking about her, as very little goes down in the Wizarding World without her say-so. Unfortunately, that extends to HBO’s reboot. While CEO Casey Bloys is adamant that Rowling’s political views won’t bleed into Harry Potter, he’s under no pressure to cut ties with her, either.
“I’ve said this before, but the decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years,” he told The Town podcast in May 2025. “Harry Potter is not being secretly infused with anything... I think it’s pretty clear those are her personal political views. She’s entitled to them.”
That said, Rowling is still a major influence on the show. She serves as an executive producer, and at HBO’s 2025 preview presentation, Bloys revealed that Rowling was “very involved” in the process of finding a director and writer to lead the series. “I imagine she’ll have opinions on casting,” he added. There’s no telling how many decisions she’ll be weighing in on as the series continues, casting a pall over the reboot before it’s even got off the ground.
Is there a trailer for HBO’s Harry Potter?
There’s no trailer for the Harry Potter reboot at this point in its production process. Watch this space for updates closer to release.
What is the plot of Harry Potter?
The first season of Harry Potter will follow the first book in the series, The Sorcerer’s Stone.
Rowling’s Harry Potter series follows its eponymous hero through his seven years as a student at Hogwarts. As the child of two legendary wizards martyred by the Dark wizard Voldemort — and a rare survivor of his attacks — his reputation precedes him. His first year at Hogwarts also coincides with the Dark Lord’s return, sending Harry and his two new friends, Ron and Hermione, on an unlikely adventure. It’s safe to assume the first season of the show will adapt the events of Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, with each season that follows tackling one book each.
How many seasons will Harry Potter have?
While Harry Potter has been touted as a “10-year journey” for its cast, crew, and audience, it’s safe to assume that the series will only run for seven seasons, with each one corresponding to one book in the saga. Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav confirmed as much in 2024, and given that the clock is always ticking when you cast child actors, it would make sense not to stretch the story out.
Warner Bros. already ran into this issue with its Harry Potter film series. It kicked off a baffling trend by splitting the final book, The Deathly Hallows, into two films, but while Rowling’s later novels are pretty hefty, a TV series shouldn’t run into the same issues. One season for each book should give the creative team more than enough space to adapt this story faithfully.
