“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” debuted a first look preview clip of its start-of-term banquet scene on Sunday, and fans of the fantasy franchise were divided on their takeaways.
Skydance CEO David Ellison was first to share the video on X, and his post was quickly overrun with critics of the project arguing that the CGI looked better in Christopher Columbus’ “Sorcerer’s Stone” original movie 25 year ago.
“Welcome to Hogwarts! Here’s an exclusive clip of the new HBO Original Series ‘Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone’ premiering Christmas Day on HBO Max,” Ellison wrote.
“Looks terrible. I want to like it too. Please recast and do better. The 2001 CGI looks better,” one verified user replied.
“This looks like Temu Harry Potter. It’s feels lifeless. Why was this needed in the first place? The movies were already timeless and perfect. Too soon for a remake of this franchise!” wrote another.
And still another added, “Sadly not hitting the mark for me.”
Negative reviews of the clip appeared mostly isolated to Ellison’s X post, however, as fans over on YouTube were less critical in their appraisal. Commenters were particularly quick to acknowledge the scene’s treatment of Dumbledore (John Lithgow) and Professor McGonagall (Janet McTeer).
The preview clip highlighted a conversation between the two professors in which they mused about Harry Potter being sorted into the Gryffindor house and how he was a “spit of” his father — a dynamic that was seldom explored in the feature films.
“The little conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall gives us more of an example of how this show will give more outside of Harry’s point of view on things than the books or movies did,” one commenter wrote.
“So that little exchange between the teachers … more of that, please?!!!” wrote another.
The new series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, with notable castings for the Hogwarts professors, including Lithgow McTeer, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
The “Harry Potter” series, which received an early renewal from HBO months before its Christmas series launch, has already begun filming its second season. In fact, many of the Season 2 players have already been confirmed, including Kit Harington as Gilderoy Lockhart, Bonnie Hill as Ginny Weasley, Lenny Rush as Dobby, Billy Barratt as Tom Riddle, Rafe Spall as Arthur Weasley, Molly Hewitt-Richards as Moaning Myrtle and Jasper Ambrose as Colin Creevey.
