Someone appears to have cast a vanishing spell on the set of the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, as a number of props are said to have disappeared. Production on the HBO adaptation has reportedly been forced to microchip all the broomsticks and magic wands, after thieves made off with a number of magical items.
According to reports, the crew discovered that several pumpkins, spell books, wands and even fake food had gone missing from Hogwarts' Great Hall during the filming of the famous Halloween feast scene. In a bid to prevent any more sticky fingers, posters are said to have been put up all around Warner Bros Studios, warning the cast and crew that props have been fitted with microchips so they can be tracked down.
One such poster obtained by The Sun can be seen to have been mocked up like a classic Harry Potter notice, with a drawing of a tagged broomstick and the words: 'Props on this production have been microchipped.' It continues underneath: 'For inventory and security purposes props are being tracked daily and movement of props will be logged. If you need to take any prop off-set or away from its designated area, please seek approval from the Props Department first. If you notice any lost/misplaced items or anything out of place, please report it to the Props team so they can continue looking.'
But despite the amusing poster, bosses are said to be fuming about the thefts and have warned that anyone caught stealing will be in breach of contract and subsequently escorted off set. 'It's easy to suspect the dozens of support actors on set, but truthfully no one knows who is responsible,' a source told the publication. 'Production bosses said they will be scouring eBay to make sure nothing is found for sale online. Anyone caught doing so will be punished and fired.'
New Cast and Set Controversies
Confirmed last year and based on J.K. Rowling's beloved books, the new show, which is being made in a joint venture by streaming service HBO and film and entertainment giant Warner Bros, will depict a new iteration of Harry's story at Hogwarts. Dominic McLaughlin is playing the titular role of The Boy Who Lived, while Arabella Stanton, 12, will star as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout, 11, is rounding out the trio as Ron Weasley.
The series was previously thrown into chaos after Apple Maps shared pictures of the top-secret sets, once again leaving the show's bosses furious. While every effort was made to keep the sets hush-hush by production, in March images of them were shared online after Apple Maps was updated with new images. It gives fans a first look into the magical world of the series, being made at the Warner Bros Studio in Leavesden, which follows young wizard Harry as he joins Hogwarts.
A number of iconic Harry Potter locations are shown in the images, including overhead shots of the hut owned by Hagrid, the giant groundskeeper of Hogwarts. Elsewhere, fans of the series will recognise the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, which has been recreated in the Diagon Alley famed from the books and subsequent films. The suburban street where the orphaned Harry was sent to live, Privet Drive, has also been brought to life on the sprawling studio set.
The project was first announced back in 2024, with HBO bosses keeping as many details under wraps as possible, with staff said to be using codewords on set to keep everything quiet, according to The Sun. The publication reported how staff were given lanyards titled 'Dark Train' instead of the name of the wizarding series to further keep details under wraps. Previously, the Hogwarts Express was pictured being set up on the studio grounds, with a replica of Hogsmeade Station and a railway track put in place.
Much to fans' delight, HBO has confirmed the series will premiere this Christmas, after previous reports suggested it would not be released until next year.
Rowling Controversy and Cast Responses
However, the Harry Potter franchise has been plagued with controversy in recent years due to creator J.K. Rowling's anti-trans crusade, which first came to light in 2019. The author has emerged as a prominent campaigner against trans rights, claiming that trans women are men pretending to be women to invade 'biological woman' spaces and stating she'd rather go to prison than use a trans person's pronouns. While her rhetoric has escalated to target other parts of the LGBTQ+ community, including non-binary people and general queer identities, and falsely accusing cisgender female Olympian Imane Khelif of being 'male'.
In the wake of her controversial remarks, a host of Harry Potter stars have distanced themselves from the writer, including the original trio - Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, as well as the likes of Eddie Redmayne and Stephen Fry. While several of the stars of the new HBO adaptation have also voiced their support for trans rights and stressed that they hold contrasting views to J.K. Rowling.
Paapa Essiedu, who is playing Severus Snape in the series, signed an open letter last year that challenged the Supreme Court's decision that 'woman' and 'sex' refer only to a biological woman and biological sex - a ruling Rowling openly celebrated. Despite some of her supporters demanding the actor be sacked from the show for signing the letter, Paapa insisted he didn't regret sharing his point of view as 'artists in the trans community have a right to be treated with dignity'.
Most recently to speak out on Rowling's views is John Lithgow, who is set to play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO TV adaptation. After it was announced the actor, 80, would be taking on the role, he was quickly met by backlash from his fans - calling for him to walk away from the project over Rowling's controversial comments online. He revealed that a friend with a trans child sent him a link to an article entitled: 'An open letter to John Lithgow: Please walk away from Harry Potter', and admitted he nearly backed out of the project.
While he has decided to pursue the role, John said it had been a 'hard' decision and added that he knows 'every interview I will ever do for the rest of my life this will come up'. He insisted that he does not agree with Rowling's views on trans rights, as he swiped at the author's 'ironic and inexplicable' views on trans women, saying the story of Harry Potter is 'clearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry'.
Speaking to Variety he said: 'I take the subject extremely seriously. J.K. Rowling has created this amazing canon for young people, young kids' literature that has jumped into the consciousness of society... Young and old people love Harry Potter and the Harry Potter stories. It's so much about acceptance. It's about good versus evil. It's about kindness versus cruelty... It's deeply felt. I find it ironic and somewhat inexplicable that Rowling has expressed such views.'
John went on: 'It upsets me when people are vehemently opposed to me having anything to do with this. But in Potter canon you see no trace of transphobic sensitivity.' The actor also detailed that he had never met Rowling and that, despite her contributions to the HBO show, she was 'not really involved in its production'. Instead he heaped praise on the production staff as 'remarkable', as he concluded: 'It made me uncomfortable and unhappy that people insisted I walk away from the job. I chose not to do that.'
