HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series just added one of the biggest names in film music to its creative team, and now J.K. Rowling has officially weighed in. After news broke that Hans Zimmer and his music company, Bleeding Fingers Music, will compose the score for the highly anticipated TV adaptation, a fan took to X to ask Rowling for her thoughts on the hire, with the response summing up her excitement.
“He’s a genius.”
That single line has already sparked plenty of conversation among fans, especially given how central music has always been to the Harry Potter experience. Zimmer’s involvement marks a major creative shift for the franchise as it transitions from blockbuster films to a long-form, prestige television format.
The HBO series, currently slated to debut in 2027, will adapt all seven of Rowling’s novels — from Sorcerer’s Stone through Deathly Hallows — with each book receiving its own dedicated season. That expanded structure gives Zimmer and his team far more room to develop themes, moods, and character-driven motifs than a traditional two-hour film ever could. In announcing their involvement, Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers composers Kara Talve and Anže Rozman emphasized both the weight of the responsibility and their respect for what came before:
“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… With this score we hope to bring audiences that little bit closer to it whilst honoring what has come before.”
Who Stars in ‘Harry Potter’?
The new Harry Potter series stars Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, alongside John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid. The Weasley family includes Katherine Parkinsonas Molly Weasley, with Tristan Harland, Gabriel Harland, Ruari Spooner, and Gracie Cochrane appearing as Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny Weasley, while Lox Pratt plays Draco Malfoy.
Other Hogwarts students include Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, and Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley. Additional cast members include Bel Powley as Petunia Dursley, Daniel Rigby as Vernon Dursley, Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Louise Brealey as Madam Hooch, and Leigh Gill as Griphook.
Showrunner
Francisca Gardiner
Directors
Mark Mylod
Writers
Francesca Gardiner
Franchise(s)
Harry Potter