Finally, ‘Harry Potter Return to Hogwarts’ premiered on HBO Max on Jan. 1, exciting old and new fans of the series.

Harry Potter is an eight-series film that started in 2001 and ended in 2011. This movie series has been a global phenomenon since it first came out.

“I was shocked when the announcement came out because it was out of nowhere,” Alyssa Bourassa, Jupiter High junior, said. “There wasn’t a build-up and it’s a huge thing because they got the whole cast, especially Emma Watson, who never comes back for anything.” 

However, there will not be a ‘new’ movie. Instead, the cast will revisit old memories, reminisce about the old movies and enjoy each other’s time together after 20 years. 

The reunion was shot in the original Hogwarts castle. The last time the audience saw the whole cast in the Hogwarts castle was in 2011. 

“I was so excited to see everyone come together because of how long it’s been, and to have everyone together in the castle makes me excited,” Mia Gavalas, Jupiter High junior, said. “It gives me a sort of a serotonin feeling.” 

At the beginning of the reunion, Chris Columbus and Daniel Radcliffe began talking about the audition part of Harry Potter and how they first ever announced that they would be making a movie for the book. They included videos of how long the lines were for auditions, and reminisced about how hectic it was. 

Emma Watson shared her own experiences with the book, and offered insight on the deeper connection that she had with her character, Hermione Granger.

 “I always knew I was going for Hermione, in a way that I think terrified my parents,”  Watson said. 

With every kid auditioning for a role in the movie, they still had no Harry Potter. When Columbus was in his hotel room one night and watched the BBC version of “David Copperfield,” he finally found the perfect kid to play the role, Daniel Radcliffe.

“This is Harry Potter. This is the kid we have been looking for for months,” Columbus said. 

 Columbus went on to the casting directors on how they needed to get him in for an audition. 

“That is never going to happen; his parents do not want him involved in this world; they don’t want him to take this role,” Janet Hirsheson, casting director,  said. 

That did not stop the directors from getting him as Harry Potter. David Heyman saw Radcliffe and his father, so Heyman convinced his father to bring him in for an audition, and that was the day they finally got Harry Potter.

Many fans were very thrilled to witness little rumors spread across the cast that the world never knew about, happy to learn more about the people who helped shape their childhoods.

One aspect of the film that helped to add to the magic and is something the movie is known for is its enormous great hall. It’s the most iconic place in the castle, and is where important parts of the plot such as when everyone is sorted into their houses in the first movie, and later where the Yule Ball scene in the fourth movie takes place.

“My favorite part about the whole reunion was the beginning when everyone was in the great hall. It was enjoyable to just see everyone in the great hall,” Sammi Hailey, Jupiter High junior said. “It gave me flashbacks to the Yule ball. So, I was happy to see that again.” 

This reunion was the first and last reunion of Harry Potter, but the film series will always be a part of many adult and children’s lives who continue to watch all eight movies.