HBO Just Released the Harry Potter Trailer For the New Series — Here Are Our Favorite Filming Locations From the Original Movies

Why This New Series Has Fans Excited

This isn't just a nostalgia-driven reboot. HBO has put together a genuinely strong cast, with John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, and Nick Frost as Hagrid. The three young leads, Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron, were selected from more than 30,000 auditions. That's either incredibly heartwarming or a little overwhelming, depending on how you think about it.

Behind the scenes, the project is in the hands of showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod, best known for Succession. Filming is taking place at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, the same studio where the original films were made. This time, though, everything is being built from scratch. The sets aren't being reused or recreated. They're starting fresh, with a new version of the wizarding world that feels familiar but not identical. It leaves a lot of room for Hogwarts to feel new again.

What’s in the HBO Harry Potter Trailer

The trailer opens exactly where you’d expect. Harry is back in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys’, getting pushed around by Dudley while Aunt Petunia reminds him he’s nothing special. It’s a small moment, but it’s handled with surprising care, and it immediately feels closer to the books than the films ever quite managed. Then Hagrid shows up, the door opens, and the wizarding world starts to unfold.

From there, it moves through all the moments fans know by heart. Platform 9¾, the Hogwarts Express, and that first meeting between Harry and Ron. Ron’s “Are you really Harry Potter?” lands with the kind of wide-eyed sincerity that’s hard not to smile at. Hermione appears soon after, and even in these early glimpses, the three of them already feel like a trio. The trailer then moves into a quick montage: Hogwarts corridors, a Quidditch broomstick being unwrapped, and brief glimpses of Dumbledore, Snape, Draco Malfoy, and Mr. Ollivander.

It's a confident first look. Nothing is being reinvented for the sake of it. This is the story fans know, told with care and a fresh canvas.

Our Favorite Filming Locations From the Original Movies

The new series is building its own version of the wizarding world from scratch at Leavesden, so the full list of filming locations is still taking shape. In the meantime, the spots that made the original films feel real are still out there, completely visitable, and honestly worth the trip whether you're a devoted fan or just someone who appreciates a stunning medieval building.

London

London holds more Harry Potter history than most people realize, and you could easily spend a full day working through the list. Here are the spots worth adding to your itinerary.

King's Cross Station

Every Harry Potter trip starts here. Platform 9¾ is where the Hogwarts Express departs in all seven films, and the real King's Cross has leaned into it fully. There's a permanent trolley-through-the-wall installation where you can get your photo taken, and a gift shop conveniently located nearby for when you inevitably want a souvenir. The filmmakers originally renumbered Platforms 4 and 5 as 9 and 10 to recreate the scene, and the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel next door stood in for the station's exterior in Chamber of Secrets. It's a spectacular Victorian Gothic building and worth a look on its own. Budget about 30 minutes for the photo line. It's worth it.

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Leavesden

This is the one you book first and build the trip around. The Great Hall, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, Hagrid's Hut, the Weasleys' kitchen -- it's all there, along with original props and costumes from the films. You can see the actual wands, the original Nimbus 2000, the Ford Anglia, and the full-scale Hogwarts castle model that the production team used to plan exterior shots. It's less a museum and more a fully immersive experience, and it holds up even on a repeat visit. Book well in advance, especially in peak season. They sell out fast.

Leadenhall Market

This one tends to get overlooked, which is a shame. When Hagrid takes Harry shopping for school supplies in Sorcerer's Stone, they pass through a storefront at 42 Bull's Head Passage inside the gorgeous glass-roofed Leadenhall Market, the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. The market itself dates back to the 14th century and has one of the most beautiful covered ceilings in London. It's a working market, completely free to visit, and genuinely worth the detour even if you've never seen a single Harry Potter film.

Near Bath

Two of the most atmospheric stops on the entire list are within easy reach of Bath, and honestly neither one needs the Harry Potter connection to justify the visit.

Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester's cloisters shaped what Hogwarts looks like on screen more than almost any other real-world location. They served as the corridors of Hogwarts Castle across multiple films, including the scene in Chamber of Secrets where the terrifying warning appears on the wall and Mrs. Norris is found petrified. The nave and other areas of the cathedral also doubled as various interior spaces throughout the castle. Walking through the cloisters, you half expect to see an ominous message scrawled on the wall in roosters' blood. It's that atmospheric, and it's free to visit.

Lacock Abbey

Snape's Potions classroom, various Hogwarts hallways, and the house of Lily and James Potter on Church Street in the village all feature across the first two films. The abbey itself is a beautifully preserved 13th-century building with a stunning cloister that the production used extensively for Hogwarts interiors. The village of Lacock is also one of the prettiest in England and shows up in so many period dramas that you'll likely recognize it from something else entirely.

Oxford

Oxford shows up across multiple films, and there's enough here to fill a half day if you're inclined. Most of it is clustered close together, which helps.

The Bodleian Library and Christ Church College

Duke Humfrey's Library, one of the oldest reading rooms in Europe, stood in for the Hogwarts library where Harry sneaks around under his invisibility cloak in Sorcerer's Stone. The Divinity School, with its spectacular fan-vaulted ceiling, became the Hogwarts infirmary. Over at Christ Church, the grand stone staircase leading up to the Great Hall appears in Sorcerer's Stone when the first-year students arrive at Hogwarts, and the college's own dining hall was the direct inspiration for the Hogwarts Great Hall, right down to the long tables and candlelit atmosphere. There's a lot ot of magic packed into one city.

New College Cloisters

This is where Mad-Eye Moody turns Draco Malfoy into a ferret in Goblet of Fire, one of the more satisfying moments in the entire series. The ancient cloisters and the large oak tree at their center are exactly as they appear on screen. The tree is still there. No ferret risk reported.

Northeast England

Durham Cathedral

Durham does quiet, consistent work across the first three films. The cathedral's cloisters, which date back to the 11th century, appear blanketed in snow in Sorcerer's Stone when Harry releases Hedwig for the first time. They show up again in Chamber of Secrets as the corridor where Ron's broken wand backfires in spectacular fashion. The Chapter House, a beautiful octagonal room off the main cloister, served as McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom, the one where Ron ends up with a goblet that still has a tail. It's a stunning building regardless of its wizarding credentials, and tends to be far less crowded than the more obvious stops on this list.

Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

This is where first-year students had their very first broomstick lesson, running across the castle grounds shouting “Up!” and hoping their brooms would actually listen. It’s also where Harry got his first real taste of Quidditch and showed the kind of natural talent that would eventually make him the youngest Seeker in a century.

The grounds make another memorable appearance in Chamber of Secrets, when Harry and Ron crash the flying Ford Anglia straight into the Whomping Willow. Today, Alnwick Castle leans into its Hogwarts connection and even offers broomstick lessons on site, which is either charming or a little intense depending on how you look at it. The castle itself is open from April through October, but the gardens can be visited year-round.

Scotland

Glenfinnan Viaduct

No Harry Potter location list ends anywhere else. The Hogwarts Express crosses this 21-arch Victorian viaduct in one of the most iconic shots in the entire series, with the Scottish Highlands stretching out in every direction. The surrounding landscape, all mist and mountains and open sky, served as the exterior of the Hogwarts grounds across multiple films, and J.K. Rowling has spoken about the Highlands being a direct inspiration for the world she was building.

The Jacobite steam train still runs the same route seasonally from May to October, and if you time it right you can watch it cross the viaduct in real life. Check the schedule before you go. This is not a spontaneous stop, but it's one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world regardless of the wizarding connection.

Whether you're planning a full UK pilgrimage or just adding a stop or two to an existing trip, these locations have been waiting patiently. The new series arrives Christmas 2026. That's plenty of time to start planning.

Frequently Asked Questions: HBO Harry Potter Series and Filming Locations

When does the HBO Harry Potter series premiere?

Season 1 premieres on HBO during Christmas 2026.

Who plays Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the new series?

Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry Potter, Alastair Stout plays Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton plays Hermione Granger.

Who plays Dumbledore in the HBO Harry Potter series?

John Lithgow plays Albus Dumbledore.

Where is the HBO Harry Potter series filmed?

The series is filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in the UK, the same complex used for the original films, though the production is building entirely new sets from scratch rather than reusing the originals.

How many seasons will the HBO Harry Potter series have?

The plan is seven seasons total, with each season adapting one of Rowling's seven books.

How long will the HBO Harry Potter series take to complete?

The full production is expected to span roughly 10 years, with one season per book across all seven novels.

Will the HBO series cover all the Harry Potter books?

Yes. The plan is to adapt every book in the series, from Sorcerer's Stone through Deathly Hallows, with one season per book.

Can you visit the real Harry Potter filming locations?

Yes. Many locations from the original films, including King's Cross Station, Alnwick Castle, Durham Cathedral, Gloucester Cathedral, and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, are open to visitors.

Where is Platform 9¾ in real life?

At King's Cross Station in London. There's a permanent trolley-through-the-wall installation where visitors can take photos. Expect a line.

Is the Hogwarts Express a real train?

The Jacobite steam train in Scotland crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which appeared in the films. It runs seasonally from May to October. Check the schedule ahead of time if you want to catch it crossing the viaduct.