Featured Image Credit: HBO
It's 'wands up' over at HBO, with the first trailer for the Harry Potter reboot landing online to a mix of fanfare and fury. In case the rabid Potterverse fans hadn't already shown with many an argument over which of the four Hogwarts houses is the 'best', people take the IP very seriously.
Away from complaints that it's too early to revisit the franchise (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 only released in 2011), a myriad of other issues have cast a dark mark over the upcoming TV series.
Alongside the continuously divisive views of author J.K. Rowling and the fact that she's attached as an executive producer, there's been an intense backlash against Paapa Essiedu's casting as Severus Snape, as well as some simply saying the trailer looks like it's been made by AI.
HBO and HBO Max have an impressive legacy of stellar shows, with the likes of Oz, Boardwalk Empire, and The Sopranos being held as some of the best shows of all time. Game of Thrones enjoyed similar early success, and even though David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' series was largely panned in its later years, the wide world of Westeros is alive and well on streaming thanks to House of the Dragon, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and more.
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Still, HBO is no stranger to backlash against its adaptations, with The Last of Us season 2 being especially called out over its differences from Naughty Dog's video game.
The first trailer for 2026's Harry Potter reboot is everywhere right now, and while YouTube hid its dislike counter back in 2021 in an attempt to stop negativity on the platform, there are various workarounds to see what people really think.
At the time of writing, the trailer for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (season 1’s title) has 4.8 million views. Smashing the like and dislike buttons, it has 174K likes and 67K dislikes, showing that even though the general consensus is positive, there are still thousands who are taking umbrage (or Professor Umbridge) with the Daniel Radcliffe-less 2026 reboot.
Some corners of the internet are calling for boycotts, and in particular, various members of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies claim that watching the series promotes 'hate' due to Rowling's involvement. Others have vowed to watch it as an anti-boycott.
The issue continues to bubble over, with Hagrid actor Nick Frost previously saying he doesn't align with Rowling's views in "any way, shape or form," while Dumbledore actor John Lithgow said he found her stance "ironic and somewhat inexplicable." While Frost suggested the debate could overshadow the series itself, there's also the casting of Essiedu as a race-swapped Snape to contend with.
Aside from book purists taking issue with the casting, a vocal campaign has been especially picked up by right-wing voices who claim Harry Potter has gone 'woke'. Essiedu recently confirmed he'd been subjected to death threats on social media, and speaking to Variety, HBO CEO Casey Bloy explained how extra measures had to be taken: "We anticipated it and tried to have training, you know, best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it.
“And obviously, we’ve got a serious security team. So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen and we just try to be as careful as we can."
With both Harry Potter and 'Snape' trending on X, it's hard to determine what's genuine fan praise or critique as social media chatter, and what's uproar over the various controversies. With Harry Potter's eight-episode freshman season due to fly in on a broom in time for Christmas 2026, it looks like HBO's marketing team will have to keep dealing with the vertiable Triwizard Tournament of controversy.
