Harry Potter's New HBO Trailer Reveals Quirrell, the Mirror of Erised and the Troll

HBO’s second major Harry Potter teaser is much deeper into Harry’s first year at Hogwarts than the March footage was, confirming the Mirror of Erised, the dungeon troll and a fuller Sorting Ceremony on screen, plus a proper first look at Professor Quirrell — the moments that turn Philosopher’s Stone from an arrival story into its central mystery.

Watch the new teaser

This is the trailer HBO released Wednesday, September 2, 2026, from the show’s own official YouTube channel — not the two-minute teaser HBO put out on March 25, which focused on Harry’s life before Hogwarts. The two are easy to conflate since HBO has used similar “Official Teaser” branding for both; this breakdown is specifically about today’s footage.

What’s actually new today

The Sorting Ceremony gets real weight. The Sorting Hat itself was already shown in March. What’s new is seeing the ceremony play out — Harry, Ron and Hermione are all sorted into Gryffindor on screen, with McGonagall presiding over the Great Hall rather than just the Hat being glimpsed in isolation.

Professor McGonagall and the Sorting Hat in the Great Hall. Credit: HBO Max / Warner Bros. Discovery.

The Mirror of Erised appears. In the first novel, the Mirror shows whoever looks into it their deepest desire — for Harry, that’s the family he lost. The trailer confirms the Mirror is in the show; it doesn’t establish how much time the show spends with it or the full context in which Harry finds it, so treat this as confirmation the object appears rather than a preview of a specific scene.

The troll is confirmed, specifically in a Hogwarts bathroom. Multiple sources describing today’s footage place the famous mountain troll sequence in a bathroom rather than a generic “dungeon,” consistent with the book’s setup. The footage confirms the event is being adapted; it doesn’t tell us which episode it lands in.

Quirrell finally gets a real look. Luke Thallon’s Professor Quirrell had mostly existed as a name on the cast list until now. HBO’s September press materials include a proper portrait of him in costume — turban included, in a Hogwarts setting rather than the Leaky Cauldron. That’s a small but real distinction from the 2001 film, which showed Quirrell already wearing the turban when he first meets Harry in Diagon Alley. In the book, Harry only sees the turban once he’s at Hogwarts.

Luke Thallon as Professor Quirrell. Credit: HBO Max / Warner Bros. Discovery.

More Hogwarts student life and a bigger Quidditch showcase. Quidditch already appeared in March and again in a short standalone teaser HBO posted September 1. Today’s trailer goes further with it — more match footage and more of Harry on the pitch as Seeker — alongside new glimpses of classes, including Herbology and Potions, and Harry meeting Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall and Hagrid as teachers rather than just cast photos.

A high-pressure game of wizard’s chess and the Invisibility Cloak. Both are new to this trailer specifically: the oversized chess set that guards part of the plot, and Harry’s cloak, shown in use rather than just as an object.

Dominic McLaughlin as Harry. Credit: HBO Max / Warner Bros. Discovery.

What isn’t actually new

A lot of detail circulating alongside today’s trailer already comes from March, not September. Privet Drive, Harry’s cupboard under the stairs, the Muggle school bullying, the haircut scene, the London Underground trip with Hagrid, the Hogwarts Express and Entrance Hall, the redesigned house crests and black school robes, Harry’s wand, the Nimbus 2000 and Quidditch uniforms, and a Christmas snowball moment were all already shown in HBO’s first teaser and its accompanying stills back in March. None of that is being newly revealed today — it’s the foundation this trailer is building on.

Book versus film, carefully

It’s worth being precise about what’s actually different here rather than assuming the series is automatically “more faithful.” Quirrell’s turban placement is one clear example: the book only puts Harry face-to-face with the turban at Hogwarts, while the 2001 film shows it during their first meeting at the Leaky Cauldron — a choice that, read closely, creates a small continuity issue, since Quirrell is able to shake Harry’s hand despite what fans later learn about who’s sharing his body. HBO’s press image, set at Hogwarts rather than Diagon Alley, tracks with the book’s version. That’s one adaptation choice, not proof the whole series will be more book-accurate than the films across the board — a season built from eight hours of television naturally has room to restore details a two-hour film had to compress or cut.

What’s still unconfirmed

HBO hasn’t shown how the Mirror of Erised sequence plays out, what episode the troll incident lands in, or how much of Quirrell’s role the season reveals early. The premiere date remains what HBO’s own materials say: Christmas 2026 on HBO and HBO Max, without a specific calendar date attached as of this trailer’s release.

For context on how HBO’s Harry Potter casting has continued to develop, see our coverage of Kit Harington replacing Nicholas Hoult as Gilderoy Lockhart for Season 2.