2026 is going to be a big year for Harry Potter on HBO Max. Of course, much of the focus is on the upcoming remake, with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone set to premiere on both the streaming service and HBO on Christmas Day. It has a good chance of being the biggest TV release of the entire year, and the kind of water-cooler hit that we haven’t seen much of since Game of Thrones ended back in 2019.
Videos by ComicBook.com
HBO Max has already shown a willingness to build on the Wizarding World IP with Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic, a behind-the-scenes documentary for a series that is still months away from release. But it’s not all about the TV show, either. There’s still attention on the movies, with the first celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. And to mark the occasion, Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed Harry Potter: The Official Film Podcast will launch on May 19th.
Hosted by critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon, the podcast will feature rotating co-hosts and dive into the biggest moments of each movie, as well as featuring a Magic Maker segment that goes behind-the-scenes of the films with special guests. There’ll be two episodes per movie, with each episode around one hour long. The first two, covering The Philosopher’s Stone (or The Sorcerer’s Stone), will be released together, followed by one episode weekly. The video podcast will only be available on HBO Max, while the audio version will be on other platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The Harry Potter Rewatch Podcast Highlights A Challenge For HBO Max
The rewatch podcast is a smart move from HBO Max, as it’ll both capitalize on and help drive subscribers watching the Harry Potter movies, all of which are available on the streaming service. The films are perennially popular anyway, but with the 25th anniversary and the upcoming TV remake, there’ll likely be an increase in viewership over the coming months, and it makes sense for the streamer to offer something new for that audience.
At the same time, it highlights a challenge and a delicate balance that HBO Max has to achieve in promoting (and subsequently releasing) the remake when the original movies remain so beloved. It’s going to be marketing both at the same time, and while nostalgia will be a big part in why people watch the new version, it’s also a double-edged sword: it’ll inevitably be compared, and has already faced criticism for being too similar to the aesthetic of the films, and so many reminders of that on HBO Max won’t necessarily help matters. Nonetheless, the podcast should be a fun dive back into the films for many viewers, and we can probably expect more ways of celebrating the 25th anniversary.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Crunchyroll -
Image courtesy of Sony -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
