Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts: All you need to know about the Harry Potter cast reunion

After 20 years of movie magic from the Harry Potter films, will we be seeing the Golden Trio back in their roles once more?

On November 16th 2001, the very first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released.

This was the beginning of a wider franchise, inspired by J.K. Rowling’s original books, that would go on to span two film series, a stage play, theme parks, merchandise, and more around the world.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the films, HBO Max has announced an exciting new update to the franchise, coming early next year.

Here’s all you need to know about Harry Potter’s return to Hogwarts and the talk of a Harry Potter cast reunion.

When was Harry Potter written?

The first Harry Potter book was published in 1997, after several years of Ms Rowling pitching the book to different publishers.

The seven-book series then came to its conclusion ten years later, with a publication date of July 14th 2007.

Much of the writing was done in Edinburgh, with the final book reportedly being written from a suite in the Balmoral Hotel.

When did Harry Potter come out?

The first film came four years after the first book, in 2001.

The books were adapted into an eight-film series, with the seventh book split into two parts.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger; the Golden Trio will return to discuss the original film series in a TV special. Photo: PA Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures.

The movies came to their conclusion in 2011, once again four years after the book series ended and ten years from when the first film came out.

Is there a Harry Potter cast reunion?

HBO Max took the opportunity of the 20-year anniversary of the first Harry Potter film to announce an exciting Harry Potter cast reunion.

They released a trailer made up mostly of old clips from the films, but promising that the original stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint would return for a Harry Potter special in the new year.

Robbie Coltrane, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, JK Rowling, Rupert Grint and Kenneth Branagh at the premiere in London of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002. Photo: Richard Young/Shutterstock.

J.K. Rowling will not be part of the TV special, coming after the author received widespread criticism for controversial comments about the trans community.

The TV special, named Return to Hogwarts, will premiere on January 1st 2022, where the Golden Trio will be joined by American filmmaker Chris Columbus, who also worked on the series, to discuss the films and explore their creation in depth.

The second trailer, debuting on December 7th, revealed that even more stars will be joining the original trio, including Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James and Oliver Phelps, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch and “many more”.

The new footage showed some of these well-loved stars receiving the iconic parchment envelopes, stamped with a red seal, inviting them to come back for the reunion.

Is there a new Harry Potter movie coming out?

The three actors will not be reprising their roles in the TV special, but will rather be there as themselves to discuss the making of the films, much like the recent Friends reunion to commemorate the hit sit-com.

As a result, this is not a sign of an upcoming new Harry Potter movie on the horizon.

Nonetheless, for those who need an extra kick of the Wizarding World on the big screen, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is due for a 2022 release, on April 8th.

The Fantastic Beasts series is set in the same universe as Harry Potter, but several years earlier.

It doesn’t feature any of the original core cast, but there are references to some familiar names and faces, most notably a younger version of Albus Dumbledore himself, played by Jude Law.

This is the closest we are likely to get to a new Harry Potter film for now, as there are no confirmed details about any other Potter-related projects.