HBO's Harry Potter Series Recruits A Legendary Composer For The Score

Remember the legendary, sweeping, and frankly epic score that accompanied the original eight "Harry Potter" movies? The "Harry Potter" HBO TV series adaptation is now getting its own theme courtesy of Oscar winner Hans Zimmer.

According to an HBO press release, Zimmer will craft fresh music for the upcoming "Harry Potter" TV reboot alongside Bleeding Fingers, which is described in the release as "an Emmy Award-winning and Grammy- and BAFTA-nominated collective of exceptional, sonically diverse composers who create superlative original film, television, and multimedia scores." Zimmer, as fans of the composer likely know, is responsible for the scores of films like "Interstellar" and "Inception" and won his two Oscars for "The Lion King" in 1994 and Denis Villeneuve's first "Dune" movie in 2021.

Zimmer also provided a quote to the outlet. "The musical legacy of 'Harry Potter' is a touch point for composers everywhere and we are humbled to join such a remarkable team on a project of this magnitude. The responsibility is something that myself, Kara Talve, and Anže Rozman do not take lightly," Zimmer stated, naming a few of his close collaborators who will join him for this "Potter" project. "Magic is all around us, often just beyond reach, but as in the world of 'Harry Potter,' you simply must look for it. With this score we hope to bring audiences that little bit closer to it whilst honoring what has come before." Zimmer is certainly up to the challenge, but does have big shoes to fill; you might recall that living legend John Williams composed the central "Harry Potter" movie theme.

Ever since the "Harry Potter" TV show was first announced in 2023 (just slightly over a decade after the original film franchise wrapped up in 2011, mind you), new reveals about the show have been provided as they come, including major casting and creative decisions. "Succession" veteran Francesca Gardiner will serve as showrunner with her former collaborator on that show (and HBO's own personal Grim Reaper, in some respects) Mark Mylod, who's also set to direct episodes of the series. Meanwhile, Paapa Essiedu ("I May Destroy You," "Black Mirror") is playing Severus Snape, John Lithgow has signed on to play Albus Dumbledore, and even the main trio has been recast. Indeed, much like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint originated the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in the original movies, Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alistair Stout will now reimagine them for a new generation.

Look, I've talked about this before; I don't think there's a "need," in any sense of that word, for a "Harry Potter" reboot. Not only did the films conclude at least sort of recently, but series author Joanne "J.K." Rowling has also courted plenty of controversy over her open opposition to the transgender community, so it feels like, well, nobody asked for this. Still, getting someone as massively successful and popular as Hans Zimmer on board is a huge victory for the "Harry Potter" TV series, and we'll see how it all keeps shaping up until the show premieres in early 2027 (with a reported eight episodes in its debut season).