Harry Potter is one of the most beloved movie franchises of all time and today marks the first film’s 20-year anniversary. Yes, it’s been two decades since we first saw Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint’s Harry, Ron and Hermione come together in Harry Potter in the Sorcerer’s Stone. Thanks to the milestone, we’ve learned the cast are reuniting for a special set to stream on HBO Max and soon.
HBO Max has announced that a streaming special called Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts is set to be released on the first of the new year. The service released a short teaser (above) that doesn’t feature any footage from the special itself, but definitely has us excited to see so much of the Harry Potter cast back together to reminisce on their experiences.
As the teaser reveals, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will star in the anniversary special, but they will be far from alone. Also involved in Return To Hogwarts is the film series’ Hagrid, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge), Ian Hart (Professor Quirrell), Mark Williams (Arthur Malfoy), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) and Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy).
Of course more of the Hogwarts kids are joining including Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom), Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas) and James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley). The director behind the first two Harry Potter movies Chris Columbus will also be in attendance alongside “many more” which has yet to be revealed.
According to an HBO Max press release, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts will be a “retrospective special” that will see the cast returning to their Harry Potter roots for the first time since saying goodbye to the series with Deathly Hallows Part 2, which was released in summer 2011. It will include cast interviews, conversations and was referred to as the “capstone event” of the holiday season for the streaming service.
It sounds like Return To Hogwarts may be similar to HBO Max’s Friends: The Reunion Special, which brought together the cast of the hit series years later. The special followed Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer as they reacted to being back on set along with featuring a number of interviews and cast surprises throughout its nearly two-hour runtime.
The Harry Potter trio actually grew up on the set of the Warner Bros movies and it has since come to define their lives since. It sounds like this will be a great treat for Potterheads when it debuts on the streaming service on midnight January 1, 2022. HBO Max is also the home of all eight Harry Potter movies and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World is set to continue with Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, hitting theaters on April 15, 2022.
