The first ‘Harry Potter’ trailer has dropped. Here’s what we’ve learned from it

By Charlotte Reck, CNN

(CNN) — The boy who lived will rise again on Christmas Day 2026 as HBO Max reboots the tale of orphaned wizard Harry Potter in an eight-episode opening series bearing the name of the original novel: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

And in case you’ve been living in a cupboard under the stairs –– the trailer has dropped.

The two-minute tidbit was released on Wednesday ahead of the launch of the HBO Max UK and Ireland streaming service on Thursday. (HBO, like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.) Although just a snippet of the saga ahead, the trailer has already got muggles talking.

Here’s everything we know after watching the trailer:

What does it look like?

Largely, the same. Potterheads across the globe will instantly recognize Harry’s not-so-homely house on Privet Drive, his cramped excuse of a bedroom and the endless disdain oozing from the young wizard’s unloving aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley.

Envelopes inscribed with cursive text, luggage cart run-ups at London’s King’s Cross Station and sweeping landscape shots glimpsed through a train window are also likely to get the hearts of diehard fans pounding.

But it’s the first look inside the enchanting Great Hall and at the all-knowing Sorting Hat that will ignite a fire in the bellies of all those who still check their mailbox every birthday, hoping for a summons from Hogwarts.

Who is in it?

If there is one thing HBO Max has thrown everything at for the reimagining of this world, it’s the cast. Star-studded, and then some, the upcoming show boasts giant of stage and screen John Lithgow as Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Golden Globe winner Janet McTeer as stern but wise Professor Minerva McGonagall, and comedy stalwart Nick Frost as gentle oaf Rubeus Hagrid.

Filling the capes of the trio audiences watched grow up will be Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. The protagonists are largely newcomers with few prior acting credits, but the trailer reveals youngsters filled with all the wild curiosity one might expect as they embark upon a magical adventure.

Unlikely hero Professor Severus Snape will be played by Paapa Essiedu, best known for his role in 2020’s conversation-provoking comedy-drama series “I May Destroy You.” Images of Essiedu’s Snape already appear to capture the potions professor’s foreboding presence, but this casting has triggered a racist backlash online. Essiedu appears undeterred by the trolls, however, sharing the announcement of his casting on his Instagram page with the playful message, “We shall eat and we shall leave no crumbs. See you at Hogwarts. Professor Snape x.”

What are the differences between the movies and the series?

Notably, the music. Many will recall hearing the mystical “Hedwig’s Theme” composed by maestro of cinematic scores John Williams and knowing instantly they were about to be transported to a world of magical beings.

That is no more. Instead, Oscar-winning German composer Hans Zimmer and his company Bleeding Fingers Music will be at the helm.

Only a little of the show has been shared so far, but something likely to unsettle lovers of the movies is, simply, accepting a new generation of actors in much-loved roles.

As one YouTube user put it beneath the official trailer, “It feels like seeing new people living in your old home.”

What are the production details?

Like the film series, HBO Max’s Harry Potter series is being primarily shot at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, just north of London.

The first instalment will be released on Christmas Day, and each of the series will be bookended by the beginning and the end of a school year at Hogwarts. Actors signed on to the project are committed for up to 10 years.

While HBO has not confirmed how much it is spending per episode, some reports suggest a cost of $100 million per episode. If true, this will far exceed the cost of the entire original film series, on which Warner Bros. spent an estimated $1.2 billion, and will make this the most expensive television production of all time. CNN has reached out to HBO for comment.

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