Do you need to watch all Harry Potter movies to understand the new series?
By Sandy C.
The Harry Potter franchise is about to grow with the addition of a new TV series adaptation set to stream on Max. Fans of the movie series can't wait to dive into new adventures, but what about fresh, young muggle eyes?
Are planning on watching the upcoming Max series based on the Harry Potter books, but have never seen (or read) the movies? If so, you may be wondering if you need to watch all of the Harry Potter movies in order to understand the series. And your question makes sense! After all, fans of the franchise know very well that the world of wizardry is complex. But is studying up necessary before watching the new series or can you just jump right in?
No prior Harry Potter knowledge is needed to enjoy new series
In short, no, you do not need to be educated in wizardry or be knowledgable about the franchise to watch. The upcoming series will provide new eyes with all the details they need to know about the story to enjoy. In fact, this new TV adaptation will introduce a fresh new story.
Just like the movies, the TV series will focus on the stories in the book. But movies are limited to a couple of hours, meaning there is still a lot of story left to tell from the pages. As for fans of the original movies, it's going to be so much fun checking out the series and trying to find the differences from the movies, what has been added, changed, modified -- it's going to be a treat!
From Deadline, this new series "will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years," HBO and Max Content Chairman and CEO, Casey Bloys, told the source. Bloys also called the Max series "a faithful adaptation."
Now, unfortunately, the series won't be released until late 2025 or early 2026. That's right, there isn't even a set premiere date. so, sadly, no premiere date means we have no news on the cast. The actors who take on the roles of Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione are not known. Your guess is as good as mine! But with a release date not even in the calendar, if you do want to watch the movies (or read the books if you haven't already) you definitely have enough time to do so. Just know it's not necessary.
Want to watch the movies, anyway? You don't have to look far (or shuffle through streaming platforms) to watch! All eight movies are available to stream on Max. Bonus watch! If you'd like to check out the Fantastic Beasts movies, they are all streaming on Peacock.