Harry Potter HBO trailer: New series teases more of James and Lily, a fresh trio, and a terrifying troll

Are we finally getting a glimpse of Harry Potter's parents? A real backstory?

Well, it seems like it. The new trailer for the HBO series has raised many questions, where two youngsters are running across a bridge, and fans are pointing out, that indeed, it is James and Lily.

Considering James and Lily Potter only exist in fragments and flashbacks, this would be a new route for the Harry Potter franchise. Clearly, there's a whole story around him waiting to be told, and this is a promise that we'll get more of it.

The trailer shows us everything that we are familiar with: Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat, the whole ceremony, and the drill all Potterheads are familiar with.

McGonagall (Janet McTeer) marches the first-years in and calls names alphabetically while Harry mutters his silent prayer against Slytherin. Dumbledore (John Lithgow) makes his entrance with a snap of the fingers that fills the Great Hall's tables. And Snape (Paapa Essiedu) gets his introduction dialed all the way up to icy.

From there it's a greatest-hits tour, but shot with new texture, Herbology, the Invisibility Cloak, the Mirror of Erised, Ron getting his letter at the Burrow surrounded by a chaos of brothers, a full-stadium Quidditch match, chess pieces that brawl.

And then there's the troll. Anyone who grew up on the films remembers the bathroom troll as a goofy specimen, that mostly existed to bring Harry, Ron, and Hermione together. The new version brings something more dangerous to the table.

Dominic McLaughlin takes the title role, with Arabella Stanton as Hermione and Alastair Stout as Ron. The Hogwarts halls are rounded out by a huge young cast, Rory Wilmot's Neville, Lox Pratt's Draco, the Weasley twins played by real-life brothers Tristan and Gabriel Harland, and more. On the adult side, Nick Frost steps into Hagrid's boots, joining McTeer, Lithgow, and Essiedu.

Almost as fast as the trailer dropped, the pushback started, about several aspects, including colour. Fans immediately noticed that the the palette embraces ool, grey, and blue throughout, and a lot of longtime fans are not into it. One viewer said the original film "has such a light and magical feeling to it," while the new trailer "looks depressing and has the colour palette of" the darkest book in the series. Another comparison making the rounds: the lighting reads like it was "used for Game of Thrones slapped onto Harry Potter," which, as one fan put it, "doesn't work."

One commenter complained about squinting through a screen that's "80% darkness and the rest of the time has an ugly blue/grey tinge," and another called it a strange fit for Philosopher's Stone specifically — supposedly "the most happy and bright book in the series."

However, some fans think there's method to it, arguing the cooler tones make sense for scenes with the Dursleys, since "it's not a place of magic and warmth," and suggesting that muted look should stick to the Muggle world before peeling away once Harry reaches Hogwarts. Others have pointed out that the original films weren't all sunshine, especially once Alfonso Cuarón took over directing — so some of the "the old ones were so warm and vibrant" nostalgia might be doing some heavy lifting.

Mark your calendar: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone lands Christmas Day, December 25, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max.