Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022)

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is a 2022 television special of the Harry Potter film series that was released on HBO Max on New Year’s Day. It marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the series’ first instalment, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001). It is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and executive produced by Casey Patterson. The reunion features clips of and pays tribute to cast members who have since died, including Helen McCrory, Alan Rickman, John Hurt, Richard Griffiths and Richard Harris.

J. K. Rowling—the author of the original Harry Potter book series, who had a significant role in the production of the film adaptations—is largely absent from the special. She appears for under thirty seconds in archival footage from her interviews in 2019 and is mentioned by some of the special’s interviewees, but no advertisements for the special featured images of her. Critics speculated that this was due to her views on transgender issues and, as The Daily Telegraph’s Ed Power put it, consequent “public rebuke by the series’ stars”. However, Entertainment Weekly reported that Rowling had been invited to appear but she felt that the archival footage was sufficient, with “sources close to the situation” denying that the author’s decision was related to the controversy surrounding her remarks on transgender issues.