Go ahead and get ready to cue your inevitable comparisons: the new trailer for HBO's Harry Potter series dropped on Wednesday, giving audiences a first look at muggles, magical Hogwarts students and The Boy Who Lived. Due to hit HBO and HBO Max for Christmas 2026, the TV show will be a direct adaptation of the wizarding books, starting off with The Philosopher's Stone.

To fans familiar with the movie franchise, this may feel like a rediscovery -- or reintroduction -- to the live-action version of the world of Harry Potter. The trailer shows a young Harry and his signature scar, his tyrant of an aunt and the moment he received his invitation from Hogwarts. Take a look at the first meet with Hagrid, tender moments with Ron and Hermione, and a look at Lucius Malfoy and Snape. 

The series features Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout 
as Ron Weasley, and the expansive cast also includes Nick Frost as Hagrid, John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore and Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape.