HBO Max is creating a new adaptation of the famous “Harry Potter” series and is releasing Season One, the first of seven, on Dec. 25 this Christmas. The trailer and cast list were released on Mar. 25, 2026.
This reboot is unnecessary and won’t match the standards of the original series that shaped the “Harry Potter” fandom. The iconic sets, casting, magical soundtrack and shared nostalgic feeling among fans can’t be fully recreated with the new series.
“Harry Potter” fans at Millikan have lots to say about this, like Lindsey Sylva, a junior in QUEST. She said, “I’m not necessarily excited for it [the HBO adaptation], I feel like it’s kind of over-pretentious of them to assume it’ll do well. I think it’ll be great that they’ll be able to go more in depth, but at some point it’s going to start to drag on.”
With seven seasons, HBO is attempting to have more screen time to showcase forgotten details from the books such as characters like Peeves the Poltergeist, Winky the house elf, etc.; stronger character development for Ginny Weasley, Voldemort’s family history, and insight on Harry and Draco’s home life.
The HBO adaptation will be negatively reviewed and compared to the original, especially the casting of the Golden Trio: Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger) and Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley). These child actors are inevitably being compared side-by-side with the original actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Ron Weasley.
Other possible spin-off series like the fan created content based off the original series (like Marauder’s, the Black sisters or the Hogwarts founders) would’ve been more compelling. Fans have been wishing for different series like these instead, like Ruby Covill, a sophomore in COMPASS and die-hard Harry Potter fan.
“I have mixed feelings about it… but I also think it’s unnecessary,” says Covill, “We already have the movies that are super awesome, and I think that with more details you can go more in depth on the [Harry Potter] lore.”
A controversial casting choice is Paapa Essiedu, a black man, as Professor Snape, originally played by Alan Rickman, who was white. Professor Snape serves as a villain for the majority of the series and is the Dark Arts professor in the sixth film. Some fans are upset because Snape was referred to as “pale” in the books.
Olivia Carroll, a sophomore in PEACE believes that, “It’s really important that we, as the older generations that got to enjoy it as kids, allow the younger generations to enjoy it the same way without the criticism and hate. The costuming looks phenomenal. The cinema looks phenomenal.”
Regardless, as a diehard Potterhead, I’ll still be tuning in to the new series this Christmas despite the fact that the original movies will forever be my favorite.
Ivy Estrada • May 15, 2026 at 1:32 pm
As someone who has read all the books, and watched all 8 movies, I would agree that it seems like the film industry probably wants to drag this series out to gain as much money as possible from it. Companies often find sequels, spin-offs, or in this case, recreations of a popular series, safer as it already has an established/built in audience (and Harry Potter has a massive fan base). I would hope that HBO also eventually invests in more insightful spin-offs about the founders of Hogwarts, or other things like that.
However, I think that there is still something to be said about the transformation of books to movies, which is similar to what is happening now. I think it’s important to take into consideration that the movies were also criticized by the original book lovers because it potentially would make the books into something it’s not. However, the movies ended up being something that most people really enjoyed, and in fact grew the fan base even larger. It would be interesting to hear what the media is saying on this issue, and the shift in perspective from the book lovers to the movie-lovers,
Overall, I hope that this new reboot won’t simply be a retelling, but an enhancement of the original series. Possibly, it could incorporate ideas from the fan base that have been developed over the years since the movies were released.