An exciting couple of weeks for fans of the wizarding world. A return to Hogwarts is getting ever closer as Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter television series continues to purr steadily along. In recent months, the eagerly anticipated reboot found its captains with Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod attached to serve as head writer and director respectively. Just last week, an open casting call went out in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the official Wizarding World website as the series seeks to fill out its cast, including the iconic roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Quite clearly, things are heating up, and now, audiences can begin to mark their calenders (somewhat) regarding when the new series can be expected.
Fresh off the somewhat shocking Emmy win for Outstanding Comedy Series, a prize claimed by HBO’s Hacks. Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content spoke to Deadline, regarding the state of affairs with the Harry Potter series. Quizzed on what else might be going on beyond the recent casting call, Bloys responded saying, “Writers have started. [Director] Mark Mylod has started. The team, they’re hiring department heads, casting, and we’re off.” This lends credence to the assumption that the wheels are turning rapidly for the new series. On the prospect of production beginning in March, the CEO responded saying, “We haven’t announced any [date]. I think they were talking about age [the young actors] will be in March, that doesn’t mean necessarily a production start date.” Regarding when the Harry Potter television series might lauch, Bloys answers:
“Late ’26-’27. Writers are just getting started so it’s too soon to talk about airdate.”
Given the struggles of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, it is not surprising that Warner Bros. has opted to reboot the much beloved Harry Potter franchise. Much like what Prime Video is doing with its Rings of Power stories, Warner Bros. and Harry Potter will look to tell new stories to its audience. The original films which ran from 2001 to 2011 were adapted from J.K. Rowling‘s novels, and despite the author’s combative stance on certain social issues, Rowlings is expected to be involved in the decision-making process of the upcoming series.
This Book Romance Should Play Out In The Series
With the prospect of an all-new Harry Potter series, fans of the franchise have many aspects of the story they’d most want to see on screen. For Harry Potter alum Bonnie Wright, who portrayed Ginny Weasley in all eight film installments, a deeper examination of the romantic relationship between Harry and Ginny would be a decent subplot. Just as in the books, Wright hopes to see the character explored beyond just being the titular wizard’s love interest. Speaking recently, Wright said:
“So many things. More of the development of the relationship between Ginny and Harry. There’s nuanced moments of where they begin to fall in love. I think more of that arc of her character becoming this real loyal sidekick to Harry and how she really understands and knows his story and who he is and is the best partner for him. So I just hope we see that evolution of that character — and so many characters. If only we could have had five-hour movies. There are so many characters that have moments I love from the books — Neville and Luna — so I’m hoping as a fan of the books that I get to see more.”
The Harry Potter HBO series is planned to air in late 2026 to 2027. All eight Harry Potter movies are available to stream on Max.
via Collider