Harry Potter's new HBO Max series is being talked up as the "streaming event of the decade" by one Warner Bros boss.
JB Perrette, president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, told assembled press and guests at HBO Max's UK launch event that the Harry Potter series will "certainly [be] the biggest streaming event in the history of HBO Max, and arguably, I think, possibly in streaming period," (via Variety). "There's no other series that can be anywhere close to that."
So, can we expect magic in this fresh adaptation of J.K. Rowling's fantasy novels? Perrette certainly seems to think so, taking time to praise the "scope of the production, the detail, meticulousness of what they’re going through." Warner Bros. impending sale to Netflix could put even more eyes on the reboot, too.
Dominic McLaughlin is set to step into the Gryffindor robes of Harry Potter, following on from Daniel Radcliffe's iconic take on The Boy Who Lived – which began over two decades ago and spread out across eight box-office-topping movies.
McLaughlin will be joined by fellow announced cast members Alistair Stout (Ron Weasley), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger), John Lithgow (Dumbledore), Nick Frost (Hagrid), Pappa Essiedu (Snape), and Jane McTeer (McGonagall). There had been rumors about Cillian Murphy portraying Voldemort in the HBO Max series, but the Oppenheimer actor has denied knowing anything about appearing in the show.
Harry Potter is slated to run for a decade, with each season adapting one of Rowling's books. The first season is still filming, with the release window set for 2027.
For more, run the rule over all the new TV shows coming this year, as well as our wand-erful rankings of the best Harry Potter movies.
The upcoming HBO Harry Potter series, on which J.K. Rowling is an executive producer, has been the subject of criticism and debate due to the author’s public stance on gender identity, which continues to challenge the inclusivity at the heart of the Harry Potter community. It was a similar situation with the Hogwarts Legacy launch, and you can read more about the Hogwarts Legacy controversy in our explainer.
