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Google PlayIt might be time to put your sorting hat back on.
It’s been 20 years since Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint joined each other on the big screen for 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. To mark the occasion HBO Max will air Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts, a special that will reunite the actors with director Chris Columbus for some first-person insight on all things Potter, Variety reports. It airs January 1 exclusively on HBO Max and fans can catch the teaser up top.
The special will also feature Potter contributors in Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Gary Oldman, Mark Williams, Bonnie Wright, and beyond. It will then premiere on both TBS and Cartoon Network in spring 2022 before the release of prequel Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Missing from the special’s lineup is creator JK Rowling, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The author has previously argued that trans people should be defined by biological sex, and has seen plenty of criticism for her comments. She will only be appearing in the special via archival footage.
Return to Hogwarts will include in-depth interviews and cast conversations, and will be produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London.
“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,” executive producer Casey Patterson said. “The excitement is palpable as they prepare to take their fans on a very special and personal journey, through the making of these incredible films.”
In celebration of the anniversary, Watson shared a heartfelt message on Instagram, alongside a photo of her and her then-super-young co-stars, and another photo of the cast toward the end of their eight-film run.
“Harry Potter was my home, my family, my world and Hermione (still is) my favorite fictional character of all time,” Watson wrote. “I think a journalist once said it was irritating how many times during an interview I mentioned how lucky I was and started counting… BUT I DAMN WELL KNEW!!! And still know.”
She continued, thanking the crew for their work and fans for “fighting to make it such an inclusive and loving place” even after the main franchise closed shop.
“I am proud not just of what we as group contributed as actors to the franchise but also as the children that became young adults that walked that path,” Watson wrote. “I look at my fellow cast members now and I am just so proud of who everyone has become as people. I am proud we were kind to each other that we supported one another and that we held up something meaningful.”
