The second trailer for the highly anticipated Harry Potter TV series has been released, offering a glimpse into the wizard’s turbulent first weeks at Hogwarts.
The HBO adaptation will see young Scottish actor Dominic McLaughlin take on the role of The Boy Who Lived, with the first series set to be released this Christmas.
Since its announcement in 2023, the Harry Potter series has sparked controversy among anti-JK Rowling activists, with Nicholas Hoult even withdrawing from the project last week due to online backlash.
Harry Potter author Rowling is a fierce defender of women’s rights, but has been branded transphobic by some campaigners.
Many of the actors starring in the new series have faced the wrath of her critics, who believe any remake of her work should be boycotted. Rowling serves as executive producer for the HBO show.
The new trailer shows the iconic moment when Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger first enter the Great Hall of Hogwarts, before coming face to face with the Sorting Hat.
The second trailer for HBO’s Harry Potter TV series has been released, offering a glimpse into the wizard’s turbulent first weeks at Hogwarts (Dominic McLaughlin depicted as Harry)
The HBO adaptation begins this Christmas and will see Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger begin their wizarding journey (Arabella Stanton depicted as Hermione)
Harry begs the hat to sort him into a house other than Slytherin, and he is subsequently placed in Gryffindor, much to the delight of his peers.
John Lithgow also appears in the trailer as Albus Dumbledore, welcoming the new students to Hogwarts, with Janet McTeer also taking center stage as the no-nonsense Professor McGonagall.
The preview also shows Harry trying out Quidditch before he starts learning magic spells, but even he seems to doubt his talents, admitting, “Everyone thinks I’m a great wizard, but I don’t really know anything.”
But it ends by teasing the dark forces hiding within the walls of Hogwarts, with Harry revealing the story of the Philosopher’s Stone.
Filming for the second season of Harry Potter is expected to begin this fall, while the first season will be released on Christmas Day on HBO and HBO Max.
The HBO reboot of Harry Potter will star 12-year-old Dominic as Harry. The role was first played by Daniel Radcliffe, now 37.
Alastair Stout will star as Ron Weasley, previously played by Rupert Grint, 38, and Arabella Stanton will complete the trio as Hermione Granger, who was played by Emma Watson, 36, in the iconic 2000s films.
Recently speaking about the title role, McLaughlin told the BBC: ‘I was always a big Harry Potter fan when I was younger. And of course it looked like the dream role.”
Since its announcement in 2023, the Harry Potter series has sparked controversy among anti-JK Rowling activists (John Lithgow depicted as Albus Dumbledore)
The new trailer shows the iconic moment when Harry, Ron and Hermione enter the Great Hall of Hogwarts
It also reveals the moment Ron finds out he has been accepted into Hogwarts, following in the footsteps of his parents and brothers.
Alastair Stout will star as Ron Weasley, previously played by Rupert Grint
The series was plagued by scandals during production, with Paapa Essiedu (pictured) saying he even faced death threats since being cast as Severus Snape.
He also called it a “bit surreal,” adding, “I’m really happy I can do it.”
Nick Frost plays the role of Rubeus Hagrid, while John Lithgow takes on the role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore and Janet McTeer takes on the role of Professor McGonagall.
Details about the new show have been kept tightly under wraps. However, Rowling said in a post on X last June that she had read the scripts of the first two episodes, calling them “SO, SO, SO GOOD.”
The TV show arrives a decade and a half after the original films based on JK Rowling’s best-selling books ended, and is reportedly a more faithful adaptation than the original cinematic incarnations.
Although HBO and many Harry Potter fans are excited about the upcoming remake, the show has been plagued with controversy from the start.
Dubbed the ‘streaming event of the decade’, many former Potterheads have vowed to boycott the program due to the ongoing controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s comments about transgender people.
However, with the big stars on board, bosses are clearly hoping that the love of magic will overcome the controversy.
With more than four months left before the show’s Christmas Day release, several scandals have already appeared on the show.
In May, it was revealed that the actor set to play Ginny Weasley had to leave the project.
There were also reports of thefts in the props room, and the series doesn’t even have the support of original Harry Potter director Chris Columbus.
In an extreme turn of events, Paapa Essiedu has said that he has even faced death threats since he was cast as Severus Snape in the new TV series.
He talked about the racist abuse he endured, explained how the trolls don’t think a black man should be allowed to play a fictional wizard, and told him, “Stop it or I’ll kill you.”
The role was previously taken on by Alan Rickman in the films starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger.
The upcoming show has also been hit by ‘alarming’ allegations of bullying, with claims two 12-year-old extras were fighting on set.
According to reports from March, Warner Brothers bosses were forced to intervene and issue warnings to both adults and children, as well as threats of being removed from the show, no matter how famous they are.
A source said: ‘There are always a lot of young people on set and the reality is that not everyone will do well. It’s an alarming problem and the bosses want to get rid of all the bad eggs among the cast and crew.
‘Bosses have warned about behavior. The allegations of bullying involved both adults and children. It has been made clear that anyone reporting bullying will be immediately suspended, no matter how famous they are.”
HBO’s Harry Potter series premieres on HBO Max on Christmas Day.
