HBO’s Harry Potter reboot is moving away from the music that defined the original film series.
The upcoming television adaptation will begin its seven-book retelling with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone this Christmas. The first season runs for eight episodes, with Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton playing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
The series has repeatedly shown that it is willing to separate itself from Warner Bros.’ original movies. Sets, costumes, casting, and even Hogwarts itself have been rebuilt for television rather than directly recreated from the film series led by Daniel Radcliffe.
Now, the soundtrack is getting the same treatment.
John Williams’ music has followed Harry Potter for 25 years. His Hedwig’s Theme, first heard in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), became so closely associated with the franchise that later composers continued using elements of his work after Williams left.
That musical connection will not define HBO’s version.
HBO Is Moving Away From John Williams’ Harry Potter Sound
HBO announced in January that Hans Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers Music composers Kara Talve and Anže Rozman would create a new score for its Harry Potter series.
Their involvement immediately raised a major question: would HBO retain Hedwig’s Theme, or build a completely new musical identity for the reboot?
Zimmer has now made his approach clear.
Speaking to Collider about following one of cinema’s most famous composers, Zimmer said, “I can’t write like John Williams, but even if I could, I would try to stay away as far as possible and try to be original.”
That means viewers should not expect Hedwig’s Theme to act as the musical backbone of HBO’s Hogwarts.
Williams composed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), establishing themes that continued to echo through the franchise long after his departure.
Patrick Doyle took over for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), followed by Nicholas Hooper and Alexandre Desplat.
Despite those changes, Williams’ music remained part of the series.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) even returned to Williams’ Leaving Hogwarts for its epilogue, bringing the movies full circle with music first used at the end of Sorcerer’s Stone.
Zimmer has faced a similar challenge before.
“When I was doing ‘Man of Steel,’ which, of course, is Superman, for three months I was running around going, ‘I don’t know. I can’t do this. I can’t do this because it’s John Williams. John Williams is — it’s brilliant! It’s brilliant!'” Zimmer said.
“Zack [Snyder, the film’s director] phoned me and said, ‘Can I come down?’ I go, ‘I don’t really have anything,’ and he goes, ‘Well, I’ll be there on Tuesday.’ So I came up with a tune, but I still was incredibly worried about it.”
Zimmer ultimately created a new musical identity for Man of Steel rather than recreating Williams’ famous Superman theme.
He added: “Zack just said the simplest thing to me. He said, ‘Hans, it was just a movie. This is just a movie.’ And that was so liberating. It’s just a movie, and my life is all about making music for movies, which I do because I love it. I love the movies, and I love having fun with it.”
HBO has not stated that Hedwig’s Theme is formally banned from appearing in any capacity.
However, Zimmer’s insistence that he wants to move “as far away as possible” from Williams makes clear that the reboot’s new soundtrack will not be built around the original films’ music.
The Harry Potter Reboot Is Replacing More Than Its Soundtrack
The musical overhaul fits into HBO’s wider attempt to create a separate version of Harry Potter.
Instead of compressing Rowling’s books into feature-length movies, the reboot will devote each season to a single novel. Season one alone has eight episodes, giving the writers considerably more room to restore characters and storylines previously cut.
The films made increasingly substantial changes as Rowling’s novels grew longer.
Peeves never appeared onscreen, Hermione’s SPEW campaign disappeared, the Marauders’ history was shortened, and much of Voldemort’s backstory was removed from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009).
Peeves will finally appear in HBO’s adaptation, with Peter Serafinowicz playing the Hogwarts poltergeist.
The series is also returning Harry’s Muggle life to the early 1990s. Philosopher’s Stone takes place from 1991 to 1992, with the production building its Muggle costumes around the period rather than shifting the story into a contemporary setting.
Behind the camera, HBO has assembled a new creative team.
Mara LePere Schloop serves as production designer, while Oscar-winning Holly Waddington designed the costumes. Production began at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in July 2025.
Hogwarts uniforms and Quidditch robes have already been redesigned, while the castle itself has been reimagined rather than simply reproducing the version made famous by the original films.
Are you excited to hear Hans Zimmer’s new Harry Potter soundtrack?
