HBO has released the first full trailer for its upcoming Harry Potter series, and fan reaction has split sharply over the absence of the original film cast.
The teaser, which dropped this week, introduces Dominic McLaughlin, 15, as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. The three newcomers step into roles made famous by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint across eight Warner Bros. Films from 2001 to 2011.
Social media response centered immediately on the recasting. One viewer wrote on X, “Harry Potter without the original cast just feels wrong.” Another posted, “I grew up with HP, so seeing new faces tell the same story is hard to accept.”
The skepticism extended to the trailer’s production values. “It’s better than the last trailer but…nah, doesn’t look anywhere near as good as the movies,” one person wrote on X, adding that it looked “like a generic Netflix show as opposed to a high budget HBO production.”
Others questioned the project’s existence outright. “Why not make a spin of series with the og cast that’s still alive? Haven’t we watch this story play out already?” a fan wrote on the platform.
The series surrounds its young leads with established performers in the adult roles. John Lithgow, 79, plays Albus Dumbledore, with Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. The ensemble also includes Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, and Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom. Warwick Davis returns to the franchise as Professor Filius Flitwick, a different role than the one he played in the original films.
The trailer shows McLaughlin’s Harry enduring life with the Dursleys, played by Daniel Rigby, Bel Powley, and Amos Kitson as Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley respectively. It also offers glimpses of Stanton’s Hermione and Stout’s Ron aboard the Hogwarts Express, plus Lithgow’s Dumbledore and Essiedu’s Snape in the castle’s halls.
The footage suggests the adaptation will expand beyond the 2001 film’s scope. Scenes involving the Weasley family indicate the series may depart from Harry’s strict point of view at times, and the first season’s ten-episode format based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone promises more room for J.K. Rowling’s original material than the movie allowed.
HBO has scheduled the series to premiere Christmas 2026.