In the Harry Potter movies, the Wizarding World looked grand in scale. It looks like the upcoming HBO Original show of the fantasy franchise won’t be too far off. The Harry Potter series is up and running in the most incredible way, and yes, it involves a real school. Nick Frost, who will be playing Rubeus Hagrid, made the new Harry Potter series sound like Game of Thrones, with claims that each season will take nearly a full year of production. It’s clear that HBO sees a winner with all of the early dedication being put into the show.
If you want to know another incredible way the HBO series is coming together, The Sun reported that a £1 billion mini-town is being built for the new show. That would be $1.3 billion in American money! The Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden is expanding to include a Tudor-style Privet Drive being built as well as new roads, parking garages, and hangars. An insider told The Sun about what a huge investment Warner Bros. is putting into the upcoming show:
Warner Bros are making a huge commitment to the new TV show, looking at making multiple, lengthy series over the next decade. So they see pumping a huge amount of cash in upfront to construct this infrastructure as a worthwhile investment which they’ll eventually get a return on. What they’ll have is a small metropolis which will not only provide the backdrop for the show but all the facilities the huge cast and crew need, too.
The part of the Warner Bros. Studios expansion that appeals to my interest is a school being built on the set. As filming is expected to take years, that would definitely be a long time to keep the kids out of school. So, an on-set school would be ideal for child actors. As the new Harry, Ron, and Hermione are around the same ages as the magical characters they play, education is just as important for them as their Hogwarts characters. Although I’m sure they’re going to dread having to learn the usual Muggle subjects compared to Potions, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts.
It’s also interesting to know that there will be a facility on set to house a lot of the show’s animals. With dogs, rodents, birds of prey, spiders, horses and snakes making cameo appearances in the Harry Potter series, it’s nice to know not all of the animals will be CGI. However, Warner Bros. wanted to make it clear that “no animals are housed overnight for this.”
With a new school, Privet Drive and animal facilities built into the Leavensden set, I have a feeling the Harry Potter experience will be as bewitching for the cast and crew as it will be for audiences. It's the perfect way for everyone to feel like they're living in J.K. Rowling's world during the time of filming.
Just as casting has gotten underway with the new Harry Potter series, starting with John Lithgow as the new Dumbledore down to the new young trio, we know that the series is continuing to come together now with a new mini-town and school for the young cast. Just like how the movies transported you to another world, I’m confident the HBO TV show will do the same thing for this generation of fans. Prepare to relive the magic on your Max subscription in 2026.
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