The boy who lived will rise again on Christmas Day 2026 as HBO Max reboots the tale of orphaned wizard Harry Potter in an eight-episode opening series bearing the name of the original novel: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

J.K. Rowling responded for the first time Thursday to HBO's trailer for its upcoming "Harry Potter" series, which debuted earlier this week. After a full day-and-a-half of online chatter dissecting the first trailer for HBO's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" — which announced a surprise Christmas 2026 premiere date at Wednesday's time-of-launch — the author responded directly to one fan praising the project on X Thursday

“The John Williams soundtrack is more important than most people think," said one user.

The first footage of HBO's entirely new adaptation of Rowling's books has arrived, with an earlier than expected premiere date: Christmas 2026.

The new Harry, Ron and Hermione got their first real taste of fame on Wednesday night in London. Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, the young actors playing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively in the upcoming TV reboot,

A new era of the "Harry Potter" franchise is beginning later this year, with an HBO series debuting this Christmas. Watch the first trailer here.

From "magical" to "bland" to missing John Williams' score, the Potter fandom has plenty of strong thoughts about the first trailer for the new drama series.

Whereas the original film, released in 2001, looked warmer and more inviting, fans are wondering why this show, as seen in the trailer, looks much darker and gloomier by comparison.