Hogwarts throws open its doors once more

The letter has arrived — and a whole new generation is being invited in. HBO has released the latest trailer for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, offering the most detailed glimpse yet of its faithful, decade-spanning reimagining of JK Rowling's beloved books.

At its heart is 11-year-old orphan Harry, played by newcomer Dominic McLaughlin, who is swept from his miserable cupboard under the stairs into a hidden world of magic and menace. The teaser lingers on the moments fans know by heart: the Sorting Ceremony that despatches Harry to Gryffindor, his first flight on a broomstick, and the clatter of Quidditch. Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton round out the central trio as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, chosen from some 40,000 hopefuls.

The grown-ups carry weight, too. John Lithgow stands tall as a twinkling Dumbledore, Janet McTeer's McGonagall coolly recites the rules, and Paapa Essiedu's Snape watches from the shadows, all disdain. Nick Frost's warm-hearted Hagrid provides the emotional ballast.

Behind the enchanted walls, HBO promises, lie darker secrets — and the courage Harry must summon against the most feared wizard of all. Steered by Succession alumni Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, with a fresh Hans Zimmer score, the eight-episode first season was shot at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire.

More than two decades after Daniel Radcliffe first donned the round spectacles, the boy who lived returns to screens this Christmas, streaming on HBO Max.