Harry Potter Cast Reuniting in Hogwarts for 20th Anniversary Special

Harry Potter's original cast are reuniting for the first time since the final film debuted in 2011. The HBO Max Special will be a Friends Reunion-style retrospective.

Harry potter reunion
Harry Potter is returning to the silver screen... or is it? | © Warner Bros. Pictures

The original cast of Harry Potter are reuniting, a decade after the final film debuted in 2011, to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. This reunion will be an HBO Max special, and will launch at the beginning of the new year.

Return to Hogwarts will not only reunite Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, but Chris Columbus as well, who directed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and was a producer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

This special announcement came exactly twenty years after the first film released on November 16, 2001. In fact, the announcement clip was only fifty-two seconds, and revealed very little except a promise that it would take us back "to where the magic started".

Who Will Return in the Harry Potter Reunion Special?

The iconic trio will be joined by Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton and Tom Felton, as well as the aforementioned Chris Columbus. In fact, the reunion seems to be closely modelled after this year's Friends Reunion Special.

In the Friends Reunion, we saw the central cast back together laughing and talking through scenes from the series, as well as providing little anecdotes and performing script-reads. The special was widely criticized for being mostly lip-service, so we're hoping that this newly announced Harry Potter Reunion will fare better.

Daniel Radcliffe, speaking to the BBC, said that he was very happy with Harry Potter's place in the hearts of fans, saying that "The time in most people’s lives when they discovered it meant that it has an incredibly important place in a lot people’s childhoods, and they still feel very protective over it".

When is the Harry Potter Reunion "Return to Hogwarts" Release Date?

Harry Potter will return to our screens on January 1, 2022. Return to Hogwarts looks to be an intriguing look into the cast of Harry Potter, and how they see the series ten years on from its finale. We are especially curious to hear their thoughts on JK Rowling, who has recently seen a fall from grace due to comments made regarding Transgenderism and Identity Politics.

Daniel Radcliffe replied to JK Rowling's comments, forming a rift between the series' creator, whom Radcliffe owes his career to, and the actor himself. It will be curious to see whether this is at all mentioned, and it will be great to see the gang back together for a reunion. That being said, though, can we please avoid the whole Friends Reunion debacle? Make this one good, guys, please?

Evan Williams

Australian gamer, musician, and journalist at EarlyGame. Currently living in Germany so no, I don't ride a Kangaroo to work. I am currently hard at work making our CoD and Rocket League pages the best on the internet. Lofty ambitions,...