HBO’s “Harry Potter” series has released an official trailer, giving a peek into the new take on the Wizarding World as it makes its way to TV.
Newcomer Dominic McLaughlin stars as Harry Potter, the 11-year old wizard previously brought to life by Daniel Radcliffe. Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton play his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, as they enroll at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The new show is a massive undertaking by HBO, which is adapting all seven of author J.K. Rowling’s books into seven seasons of television. The first eight-episode season is set to release this Christmas and takes on the first book, which was published in the U.S. as “The Sorceror’s Stone” and in the U.K. as “The Philosopher’s Stone.” (HBO is opting to use the U.K. title.)
The cast also includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts; Janet McTeer as Prof. McGonagall; Paapa Essiedu as Prof. Snape; Nick Frost as Hagrid; Luke Thallon as Prof. Quirrell; Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch; Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge; Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy and more. Many young actors are getting their first major roles on the series as well. Lox Pratt plays Draco Malfoy; Leo Earley plays Seamus Finnegan; Rory Wilmot plays Neville Longbottom; Gracie Cochrane plays Ginny Weasley; and Elijah Oshin plays Dean Thomas.
HBO dropped a first-look image on March 24 that showed McLaughlin as Harry in Gryffindor robes as he approaches the Quidditch pitch on the Hogwarts school grounds, surrounded by other students in their school clothes. The following day, the network released a trailer that introduced several more major characters.
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Harry Potter (Dominic McLaughlin)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / The trailer begins with Harry living in a cupboard under the stairs at the home of his aunt (Bel Powley) and uncle (Daniel Rigby), struggling to fit in with them or with his classmates at school. Soon, he finds a letter offering him admission to Hogwarts. On a train in London, Hagrid tells him how kind and brave his parents were before he sets off on the Hogwarts Express. Once he gets to school, the trailer shows him walking in the woods, taking classes and playing in the snow and unwrapping his first flying broom alongside Ron, Hermione and other classmates.
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Ron Weasley (Alastair Stout)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / Ron is first shown in the trailer hugging his mother, Molly Weasley (Katherine Parkinson), as Harry watched through a window from inside the Hogwarts Express. He explores Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione, and at the end of the trailer, while sitting across from Harry on the train, he asks, “Are you really Harry Potter?” When Harry smiles and nods, Ron gestures makes an explosion sound and gestures near his own forehead, marveling at Harry’s scar and grinning.
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Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / Hermione is seen in the trailer cheering for Harry during his quidditch match, sitting in Prof. Sprout’s (Sirine Saba) herbology class, exploring Hogwarts with Harry and Ron and riding the Hogwarts Express alongside them.
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Dumbledore (John Lithgow)
Dumbledore is only shown for a brief moment in the trailer, wearing a hat and turning around in a candle-lit room. In a photo released by HBO, he wears his official Hogwarts robes and a pinky ring.
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Snape (Paapa Essiedu)
Snape also only shows up briefly, illuminating a dark hallway with a light on the tip of his wand, though another photo shows him dressed in black in front of snow-covered trees.
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Hagrid (Nick Frost)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan /,Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / In the trailer, while riding the metro in London, Hagrid tells Harry about his late parents. “Your parents were the kindest, bravest people I ever met. They were funny and clever, and they stood up for what they believed was right.”
“The next time I see you, we’ll be in Hogwarts,” the half-giant continues before Harry is shown on the next portion of his journey.
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Prof. McGonagall (Janet McTeer)
McGonagall stands in front of a massive group of students in the trailer, waiting to welcome them to Hogwarts and oversee the process of sorting them into different houses.
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Draco Malfoy (Lox Pratt)
In one shot in the trailer, Draco and his friends menacingly pull their wands out all at the same time — presumably trying to intimidate Harry, who is off-screen.
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Dudley Dursley (Amos Kitson)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / Harry is bullied by his cousin Dudley in the trailer. Dudley’s friends pin Harry against the wall of a school bathroom as Dudley approaches him, grinning.
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Vernon and Petunia Dursley (Daniel Rigby and Bel Powley)
Image Credit: Photographed by Aidan Monaghan / Harry’s aunt Petunia berates him and forcibly gives him a haircut in the beginning of the trailer, even pointing the scissors at his face. “I told you: You are a normal boy, and you’re going to start acting like one,” she says. “You think you’re something special? There is nothing special about you.”
