Last month we heard there was going to be a full HBO special for the 20 year reunion of the first Harry Potter film. At the time, we just got a teaser and a few hints about what to expect. Yesterday, the first trailer was released, and it looks like we are all going to cry. It’s the good kind of cries, but even as a Johnny-come-lately to the films, I got pretty worked up. The trailer, posted below, shows the cast walking around various sets while voiceovers of their interviews play. Most of the big name cast members are shown, many of whom get quite emotional. One of the standout moments is when Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) took Emma Watson’s (Hermione) hand and said that they would always be bonded because “we’re family.” Aww.
In the first full trailer for the upcoming HBO Max reunion special, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, alums Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint return to the Hogwarts set to look back on the original film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, 20 years later, and its record-breaking sequels.
The trailer shows the Harry Potter cast reminiscing about filming the iconic film series, based on the popular books, with Watson at one point wiping back tears as Grint says, “It’s a strong bond we all have. We’re family. We’ll always be a part of each other’s lives.”
Going just off the trailer, it looks as though Daniel Radcliffe has a sit down with several of the actors, including Helena Bonham Carter and Gary Oldman. And there is a moment in the dining hall when many of the characters come together, but it is not clear if everyone is all together at one time. It’s lovely to see all the villains smiling and hugging everyone. The most shocking for me was Rupert’s voice. I’ve heard him since his Hogwarts days but his deep voice in that setting shocked me. Ralph Fiennes is interviewed but they only show a clip of just him alone. I don’t even want to think what’s going to happen when they pay tribute to Alan Rickman.
It was confirmed by a source that J.K. Rowling will not be featured. She will appear via archival footage. I assume that will be of book signings or of the film premieres. That makes sense. We can’t deny she created the characters, but she didn’t write the screenplay. We don’t need to hear from her, and we don’t need to discuss her transphobic comments. After all, we’re supposed to be celebrating what Harry Potter gave us, not what Rowling is trying to tear down.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts premieres on HBO Max on January 1, 2022. Get your tissues ready, just in case:
Photo credit: Instagram, YouTube and HBO
I’ve never seen a Harry Potter Movie. Maybe I should change that since I’ll be alone for Christmas!
I’m always envious of anyone who has not seen or read any of the HP content. 🙂
Same!
They really are quite good – the books too. I don’t typically save books, preferring to donate them, but I have saved the Harry Potter series on my shelf. I enjoyed reading them myself, and enjoyed them even more when I read them to my son. And the movies are very well done, mainly because 99% of the actors remain for the entire series. It’s fun to watch the kids grow up.
Treat yourself to these movies and you won’t be alone!! Join this wonderful, magical world with characters and stories that will endear, enrage and enthrall you!
I consider my life richer because the Harry Potter universe is part of it. The books are incredible in their imagination and to see it brought to life in the movies is amazing.
The timing of this is so perfect for me, lol, because we always watch the movies over winter break, one movie a night pretty much, so if we time it right we’ll be finished by New Year’s Day and can then watch this right after.
I love the movies. I only read the books once all the way through, and now I’m rereading them with my boys and its funny how much i’ve forgotten from the books, the movies are so imbedded in my mind.
I tried re-reading but I couldn’t handle the stress of dolores umbridge again! I had to do a lot of creative editing. She’s just too cruel and sadistic, it’s too disturbing. I’ve seen criticism of what happens to her character in the forest (or what is heavily implied happened to her) but I dont care.
That being said, I love the music from harry potter, it just reminds me of christmas, and I also think the christmas scenes are great! I’m sure most people know, but for anyone who doesn’t, all the HP movies are on HBOmax
That’s the one HP book I actually never finished, because of her sadistic treatment of Harry. I couldn’t get through it. I think at the time I ended up skipping 3/4 of the book and just reading the last 50 pages or something, lol. And its also my least favorite movie.
And yes, the music is so good! I hear the music and I just think Christmas. I know the first one came out in November and was directed by Chris Columbus and I think that plays a part bc the music reminds me of Home Alone LOL.
oh that must be it bc that home alone music is so nice. I love that he just goes to watch choir practice
John Williams wrote the scores for both Home Alone and Harry Potter, so you’re not imagining the musical link
@Jen – oh yeah, i know that, but not all John Williams scores remind me of Christmas, lol.
It’s so great to see them all!! They were part of my childhood,too!! And I totally agree with Emma Watson saying that when things are getting dark, Harry Potter makes everything better!!
At the time, I was a die-hard purist about the books being superior to the movies. I thought the directing was uneven and that they sacrificed story for special effects. But, now that it’s been many years since I’ve entered the HP world, it would be interesting to watch the movies again – maybe I can see them now as stand-alone.
I am definitely a book purist. I thought the movies were poor adaptations with uneven acting and directing, not to mentions the storyline and character assassinations (poor Ron was really poorly done in the movies even though Grint was great).
However I still watch them because I love the atmosphere they created, the sets, the music, everything on that side for me was so well done. And I will always have a soft spot for the actors because they are linked to these great characters, so this trailer was definitely emotional
It took me ages to realize they left out the Gaunt storyline in the Half-blood Prince movie. I just thought it had been many years and I would get busy and forget it, but nope, it was never there. Which is WILD to me. And that’s my general beef with the movies, they miss out so much complexity, which JKR calls to and weaves in throughout the books, so it’s full of Easter eggs and “awww, how did she do that??” moments.
Though the movies have grown on me over the years, especially 7.1 and 7.2, I still say books are way,way, way better.
Also:
-RIP Alan Rickman.
-Gary Oldman was not hot enough to play Sirius (CLIVE OWEN WAS ROBBED).
Another book purist here…. I remember wishing that they had made a whole series instead so that they wouldn’t rush through things ( though probably only the die-hards would watch!), however I think the third one raised the bar somewhat. After that, it was fun to see little hints of greatness in direction and storytelling, especially in 6 and both 7’s.
The thing that bothers me the most is what they did to Ginny 🙁
My kids loved Harry Potter. We went to the UK to visit some family a few years ago and went to the studio where they filmed. It was amazing and, because it was my daughter’s birthday, she got to open the doors to Hogwarts. Just so magical.
That’s so great!
We did it too!! It was AMAZING!
We did an HP tour with kids years ago ( Bodleian Library and Tudor Dining Room at Oxford), Alnwick Castle, Gloucester Cathedral’s Cloisters, Durham Cathedral, Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross St Pancras Station. They still remember it fondly even thought it was a LOT of driving in one day!
We took the “Harry Potter” train through Scotland; the countryside is beautiful, and my daughter was thrilled to sit in a compartment like a Hogwarts student. Lol, so was I.
I really love how stable Rupert Grint has become. He’s had the same partner for 10 years. They have a new daughter. He seems to really know who he is and what he wants. So rare with celebrity kids.
Daniel and his partner have been together for almost as long. I love that he has gotten to the point he can do the projects he loves. Miracle Workers is a delight.
Daniel is awesome — I’ve just started watching Miracle Workers and it brings me joy. I love that he has been really creative in his career and had fun with his choices. I’m looking forward to his role in the Sandra Bullock rom-com too.
It’s still so surprising and heartening how seemingly stable and happy those kids grew up to be. That much money, that much fame, over that much time almost always leads to problems in child stars. Good for them and good for their parents.
(And yes, I will 100% cry at this reunion.)
Ah, geez, I teared up even at this trailer!
I’ve only seen one of the movies and I quite liked it and have not been able to get into the books. My sister loved them though and we are both big readers so I thought I would be able to get into them. Maybe I’ll try again. I will refrain from my continued criticism of Emma and her faux white woman feminism.
What is “faux” or overly white about Emma’s feminism? Are you confusing her with J.Km Rowling? Emma has used her platform to promote women of colour and transgender women. She actually seems more committed to inclusive feminist activism than her acting.
Sure Emma. Keep that “feminist activism’ up.
Yeah good question, I don’t see the issue with Emma’s feminism either. The stuff I’ve seen from her is quite intersectional? Have I missed something?
Can you answer Sean’s question? Not sure why you’re picking on Emma…context?
Anyone of you could have done a search and found out yourself if you really wanted to know.
A few years back Emma criticized Beyoncé for how she presented herself in her 2013 visual album. She questioned how she showed her body while questioning Beyoncé’s feminism. You don’t go after any woman and go the route of “Look at what she’s wearing.”
A white woman policing how a black woman presents herself is not feminism. I don’t care what her excuse/explanation was after the fact.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a21166/emma-watson-feminism-beyonce-fans/
lol, the ignorance. She’s done so much to speak out on intersectional feminism and is one of the celebs actually trying to educate herself on it and has spoken about being called a white feminist in the past. Try to keep up before mindlessly hating someone for no reason (especially for something she was just taken out of context for years ago)
I’m struggling with watching this. On one hand, I loved the books and movies. As an adult, however, I see huge problems. Dumbledore is a monster. The goblins are thinly veiled Jewish stereotypes.
Plus JKR is a giant TERF.
Snape is a HUGE bully to Harry……I hate his role in the movie and can’t figure out why people are so obsessed with him, but I am hoping that as I reread the books more will fall into place for that for me….but in the first four books at least he is just horrible to Harry. And the whole thing with offering harry up as bait, again and again? Awful.
And the goblins are SO problematic.
My take on people obsessed with Snape is that they identify with him at either having an abusing upbringing or having been bullied at school. They still think about the characters as they did when they were kids, so his tragic “love” story is impacful.
There’s no way an adult wouldn’t realise that having a terrible upbringing doesn’t justify your being abusive as an adult in retaliation, that he wasn’t a poor victim of bulling but had a rivalry with James that went both ways, that calling someone a racist slur IS A HUGE THING and joining a group of supremacists is even worse and… that there’s no way a 30 year old man bulling children is ok.
I agree with the goblins and also something I didn’t catch as a kid: the books are terribly fat fobic!
I feel like Snape was going to be the villain and Voldemort sidekick until Alan Rickman was cast in the role for the movies and then suddenly more of a backstory was set up in the books so that he was an Anakin skywalker type. Also Rickman managed to soften a lot of the problems that characterized Snape in the books.
Agree with Nic919 just above; I think people are obsessed with Snape because of Alan Rickman.
@nic919 – ahhh okay, that theory makes sense, kind of like Frozen lol (where Elsa was supposed to be the villain but after hearing Let It Go, they changed the plot bc they didn’t want the villian singing that song.)
@Sof – we’re on goblet of fire in our reread with the kids and omg, the parts describing Dudley’s weight and his diet and how he gets 1/4 of a grapefruit for breakfast….yikes.
I came to the books as an adult, and I always found those goblins to be problematic. Still, overall, loved the books & the handful of movies I saw.
goblins are NOT thinly veiled, they ARE meant to be jewish. the numbers of problems in JK’s work is astonishing and dreadful but yet, she is adored.
It sucks SO BAD that Rowling went off the rails with her TERF insanity…..the HP movies and books are such a wonderful memory and experience….then she goes and ruins it for me. I can’t see an add for HP stuff without her awful recent statements hitting me like a ton of bricks 🙁
she did not go ‘off the rails’ her views were very clear in her books. Why do people think this is new? it’s not!
It’s been years since I’ve read the books but I reread a few of them quite a few times when I was growing up, the first book came out when I was in elementary school and the last book came out during my freshman year of college. I literally grew up with Harry, often reading the books when they came out being right around the same age as Harry in the book. It was such an integral part of my life growing up. JK Rowling has probably destroyed any future writing career with all of her horrible comments toward the trans community, but I don’t think she’s destroyed the legacy of Harry Potter for me. It upsets me of course but I’m glad the actors are getting together to celebrate the 20th anniversary. I’m around the same age as a lot of the former child actors are so I grew up alongside them as well.
I’ve had to avoid the Harry Potter universe for a while because of Rowling being horrible, but I’m excited for this. I’ve read the books & seen the movies countless times. I really liked the darkness in the books, including the abusive characters (I mean, look at my name). But I didn’t *like* that Snape was a bully or that Dolores Umbridge was cruel, I just liked that they added truth to the stories. There are cruel people in the world. Harry & Snape were abused but took different lessons from that, which is true in real life. I liked that many characters created loving, warm relationships in spite of the adversity they faced. And it feels like while Rowling has become consumed by cruelty, the cast have turned to love & kindness. They learned lessons she did not from her own work.
I’m glad we are apparently getting Gary Oldman alone with Daniel, I still remember someone (David Thewlis?) saying in an interview how excited Gary was when Order of the Phoenix came out because they were meant to have more work. He hadn’t read the book yet! For the adults it must have been a life changing experience as well, I’m sure that not many of them were used to being recognised by children.
As for Rowling not being there, the movies changed so much of the books that her absence doesn’t feel weird at all.
My cousin is an actor who had a decent role in a couple of kid’s movies and he says he gets recognized for those more than anything else. The kids get so excited. 🙂
This looks like fun, and I’m not even a big Harry Potter fan. I read the first book and saw a few of the movies, and I like them but not to the point a lot of my friends and their kids did/do.
I was always offended by the Goblins. Knowing what we now know about Rowling, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were a huge Anti-Semite too. But it doesn’t ruin the whole thing for me. I like all of the young actors so it will be nice to see them together again.
💔😭 Alan Rickman
My kids are teens and in their early twenties and HP was a huge part of their childhood-so I can’t wait to watch this with all of them. Years ago we went to Wizarding World at Universal Orlando-and I literally teared up when we walked in-it seemed so magical!