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The first Harry Potter TV series trailer has landed, and while tonally it's very different to the original films, visually, they're very, very similar.
If you're a fan of the movies, you might get deja vu watching the trailer, then, especially in moments like Harry with Ron on the Hogwarts Express, the Quidditch teams taking to the field, or even Hogwarts itself.
It's these similarities that have fans feeling like they've seen it all before. "I don't know how to explain it, but this looks like a live-action version of a live-action movie," said one viewer on Reddit.
"This feels like I woke up in an alternate reality where the series all looks and sounds the same, but the characters have different faces," said another.
"It just feels so weird. There have been tons of remakes and reboots in my lifetime but I can't think of one that looks quite so… uncanny," says another person. "Like, the Harry Potter world is so distinct and iconic that it feels weird just redoing the story with what looks like even the same shots as the originals. It's like they've literally just plastered new actors over the original. I'm not even a Harry Potter fan, but we've been so saturated with Harry Potter for 25+ years that seeing a straight remake feels really strange."
"It looks well-made… but it also just looks like the movies. Uncannily so, with some imagery and shots looking pretty near identical. Which then makes me wonder… what’s the point?" echoes another viewer.
"This is fucking weird, it's like uncanny valley Harry Potter because it's all the exact same as the movie except the faces are slightly morphed. What was the point of this besides money?" questions another person.
"It looks fine, but it also looks just like the movies. And the movies still exist," points out someone else. Another says simply: "You're a cash cow Harry"
"This is so weird. It's like if they remade Star Wars or Jurassic Park or Back to the Future," is another person's take.
"So unbelievably unnecessary with how well the movies still hold up," agrees another person.
But not everyone agrees. "Yeah, it has a similar tone, but there's several scenes/memories from the book in the trailer. Which if they do really stay faithful it could be wonderful. Like I'd love to see Norbert’s escape," says one person.
There will certainly have to be differences between the movies and the TV show – the first film runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes, while the first season of the show will be eight episodes, presumably equating to eight hours. Those additional five and a half hours will have to come from somewhere…
The Harry Potter HBO show begins this Christmas Day, though it's unlikely to drop a season a year. While you wait, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming TV shows.
