The Wizarding World is about to be full of new faces, but the original Harry Potter cast isn't letting the kids have all the fun. As a brand, HBO is known for mature drama series like The Wire and Game of Thrones. The network doesn't attract many stories aimed at young adults and children. That's why the streaming service HBO Max exists, as a platform that caters to all kinds of audience members.
HBO Max's next big undertaking is the Harry Potter TV series that will lock down its cast for the better part of a decade. The biggest challenge the production is facing is distancing itself from the original movies, which took the world by storm in the 2000s and early 2010s. However, instead of pretending they don't exist, the powers that be seem to be heading right into the storm, as evidenced by a hilarious moment in the latest episode of Lanterns.
In Episode 2, "Trust Fall," John Stewart does his mentor, Hal Jordan, a favor by traveling to his home in Coast City to retrieve the battery that charges his Power Ring. John can't help but do some snooping around once he arrives and stumbles upon a few photos.
One features Hal sitting down next to Barack Obama, explaining his line of questioning from Episode 1. Another photo appears to be from the premiere of a Harry Potter movie, with Hal standing next to Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. And clearly, Earth's first Green Lantern stuck around to watch the film because he also name-dropped Hogwarts in the previous episode.
The creative team behind Lanterns probably only intended to use the photo as a callback with a bit of synergy behind it. But the timing of the joke is too interesting to ignore. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone starts streaming in only a few months on HBO Max and will need all the help it can get finding its footing. Fortunately, it already has the support of the original cast members, who want to see their replacements thrive.
The Original Harry Potter Cast Is Ready To Pass The Torch
Actors who grow up together tend to form a special bond. The Harry Potter cast certainly went through a lot during their time filming the eight-movie series. And Daniel Radcliffe confirmed earlier this year in an interview with People that he keeps in touch with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint before changing the subject to the upcoming reboot.
After images of the new trio, played by Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, hit the web, Radcliffe revealed how he and his old friends reacted to them.
"It's one of those where I think we all just know how the others feel, because we're also feeling it. You just see the pictures of these kids, and you just want to grab them and hug them. That's the impulse that I think that we, mainly, all have."
It's going to be odd seeing new actors walk the halls of Hogwarts and run into the same trouble that Radcliffe and Co. did. But moments like the one in Lanterns reiterate the fact that actors are just people who rarely feel the need to hold on to the past. They move on with their lives and are happy to see their shoes filled.
Whether HBO Max's Harry Potter series reaches the bar that the movies created remains to be seen. However, there's zero reason to write it off before it even gets off the ground. After all, according to Lanterns, Harry Potter is so important that it's one of the few things that makes humans human.
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