On Nov. 14, 2001, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” came out in theaters, based on the first book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. This film marked the beginning of the incredibly popular film series and sparked one of the most well-known fandoms in pop culture.
Nov. 14 marked the 20th anniversary of the franchise. Since its release, it has gained a theme park in Universal Studios, the Broadway stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and an official “Harry Potter” store in New York City, as well as a few video games from the early 2000s and an upcoming video game.
On Nov. 16, streaming service HBO Max posted an announcement related to the franchise to their Instagram, saying a special reunion of the original “Harry Potter” cast, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson will reunite in an HBO special called “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.” The special will showcase brand-new interviews from both the cast and crew detailing their time on set and how the franchise has impacted the film world since its debut. Fans of the series will have the opportunity to view what it was like to make this famous film franchise, and how they helped evolve the films throughout the years.
Those joining the reunion include self-proclaimed “Harry Potter” fanatic Tom Felton, alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew Lewis, Ralph Fiennes, James and Oliver Phelps, Gary Oldman, and many more.
The special premiere on HBO Max this upcoming New Year’s Day. Until then, you can watch all of the films on both HBO Max and NBC’s streaming service, Peacock.