It’s time to return to Hogwarts.
HBO Max has confirmed a reunion special for the cast of Harry Potter entitled Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.
Series stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint will join director Chris Columbus and other famous faces for the event.
The event will be released on HBO Max on New Year’s Day.
Radcliffe, of course, played the lead role in the series opposite Watson as Hermione Grainger and Grint as Ron Weasley.
Return to Hogwarts comes following the much-discussed reunion special for the Friends cast which was released on HBO Max earlier this year.
This new event is to celebrate 20 years of the film franchise which adapted the celebrated young adult series from author J.K. Rowling.
A trailer for the event has already been released by the platform and can be found below.
For the first time ever, the legendary cast returns to where the magic started. Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: #ReturnToHogwarts, streaming New Year’s Day, only on HBO Max. International release coming soon. pic.twitter.com/53bHAf0WTY
— HBO Max (@hbomax) November 16, 2021
The streaming service has described the event as seeking to “tell an enchanting making-of story through all-new, in-depth interviews and cast conversations”.
The special will go on to air on terrestrial tv and cable ( via WarnerMedia’s TBS and Cartoon Network in the US) in the run-up to the release of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in spring 2022.
Other cast members confirmed to be taking part include Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, Tom Felton, , James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Ian Hart, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, and Evanna Lynch.
In a statement on the HBO Max special, Tom Ascheim, president of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics, said: “This retrospective is a tribute to everyone whose lives were touched by this cultural phenomenon — from the talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into this extraordinary film franchise to the passionate fans who continue to keep the Wizarding World spirit alive 20 years later.”
!["Harry]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2020/05/Harry-Potter-and-The-Deathly-Hallows-Part-2-caa45e2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Harry")
Executive producer Casey Patterson added: “There’s magic in the air here with this incredible cast, as they all return home to the original sets of Hogwarts, where they began 20 years ago.”
The film series began with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 2001 and concluded with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011.
This means the cast reunion comes over a decade since the film series ended.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts arrives on HBO Max in the US on January 1, 2022. A UK transmission date has yet to be confirmed.