The Harry Potter series will show more of the events of the first book

HBO has revealed the second trailer for the Harry Potter series, which for the first time details the events of the first year at Hogwarts, new Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall appear, and Harry himself tries on a junction hat, plays Quidditch and finds the invisibility cloak. About what a new return to the magical world will be like and what to expect from the project is in the Izvestia article.

A new look at Hogwarts: what was shown in the trailer

The second trailer for the HBO series has become noticeably more detailed than the first. The audience was shown not only scenes familiar from previous film adaptations, but also Harry's daily life at Hogwarts. The young wizard, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, is assigned to faculties, meets with teachers and begins studying at the school of magic. All three of them, as in the original franchise, end up in Gryffindor.

A separate place in the trailer is occupied by Quidditch. Harry enters the field for the first time in a Gryffindor uniform, and also gets a broom and prepares for his first match. In the presented video there are other important episodes of the first novel: meeting with a mountain troll, investigating the mystery of the Philosopher's stone, playing magic chess and getting acquainted with the mirror of its appearance.

Another notable detail is the invisibility cloak. In the film, this subject also became an important part of the story, but the series gets more screen time for such episodes due to its format. The first season will consist of eight episodes and will focus entirely on the events of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

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Snape, Dumbledore and others: What do the new characters look like?

The new trailer provides an opportunity to consider adult characters as well. Dumbledore was played by John Lithgow, Severus Snape was played by Paapa Essieda, and Minerva McGonagall was played by Janet McTeer. Nick Frost appeared in the image of Hagrid. The audience also saw for the first time Luke Tallon in the role of Professor Quirrell, who appears in a distinctive purple turban.

The main trio consisted of young actors, previously virtually unknown to the general audience. Harry is played by Dominic McLaughlin, Ron is played by Alastair Stout, and Hermione is played by Arabella Stanton. In the trailer, they are no longer shown separately, but as a formed golden trio.: The characters explore Hogwarts together, get into dangerous situations and try to figure out what is happening around the Philosopher's Stone.

At the same time, the series is inevitably compared to films where Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson played Harry, Ron and Hermione. Radcliffe himself had previously called for new actors not to be turned into regular participants in comparisons with the original three. According to him, if the audience really wants to support the young performers, they should be allowed to create their own versions of the characters on their own.

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More book, less movie: What is HBO going to change

The main difference between the new film adaptation lies not so much in the familiar characters or the updated design of Hogwarts, but in the format itself. HBO is going to tell the story of seven books in seven seasons, giving each novel a separate television season. Therefore, the first eight-episode season will be able to reveal the events of the Philosopher's Stone in much more detail.

The new trailer shows that the creators are not going to limit themselves to retelling scenes from the 2001 film. It features classes in herbology and potions, more of Harry and his friends' school life, scenes with a mirror, a chess game, and a troll. At the same time, the most recognizable elements of the original story are preserved — from the distribution by faculty to the first Quidditch match.

It is the opportunity to take your time with the plot that becomes one of the main arguments in favor of the serial format. What had to be packed into about two and a half hours in a full-length film can now be divided into eight episodes. This allows the authors to pay more attention to minor characters, schooldays, and episodes that had to be cut or left out of the picture in previous film adaptations.

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When will the premiere take place and what to expect next

The series is scheduled to premiere on December 25, 2026. The showrunner is Francesca Gardiner, and Mark Mylod, known for his work on The Heirs series, directed several episodes.

At the same time, HBO is already working on a sequel. The second season, dedicated to The Secret Room, is under development, and the channel's management separately noted the desire not to take too long breaks between seasons: young actors are growing up, so production needs to be conducted fairly consistently.

Thus, HBO offers to re—go through Harry's entire first year at the school of magic - from the distribution and first lessons to Quidditch, the Philosopher's Stone and the encounter with the dangers that lurk inside Hogwarts. For fans of the original story, this is both the return of familiar scenes and the opportunity to see them in a much more detailed format for the first time.

On August 28, Medialogia presented the Russian series rating for July of this year. The leader among the 30 projects was the Russian novelty "The Story of his Handmaid", which scored 2,325 points. The second place was taken by the American TV series "House of the Dragon" (1824 points), and the third place was taken by the Russian project "Cold" (1580 points). The top five also included "Boys" (1546 points) and anime "Magic Battle" (1352 points).