The Harry Potter series will not use the iconic music from the films at all!

The HBO series will have its own musical identity. Hans Zimmer, responsible for composing the soundtrack with Kara Talve and Anže Rozman, wants to move as far away as possible from John Williams’ famous theme.

It is a mysterious melody which rises gently before launching into a great magical and swirling momentum. An emblematic theme from the cinema of the 2000s, which has become one of the anthems of an entire generation. Inseparable from a little wizard with a scar on his forehead.

But you shouldn’t hear it much in HBO’s new Harry Potter series.

Hans Zimmer has indeed explained that he intends to distance himself from the work of John Williams and create entirely original music for this new adaptation of JK Rowling’s novels: “I can’t write like John Williams, but even if I could, I would try to move away from him as much as possible and be original”, he explains in an interview with Collider.

A fairly understandable position as Williams’ footprint remains immense. The composer wrote the music for the first three Harry Potter films, from The Philosopher’s Stone to Prisoner of Azkaban, and especially this famous Hedwig’s Theme, which subsequently became the emblematic musical motif of the entire saga.

We will therefore have to get used to a new melody to accompany the arrival at Hogwarts and the exploits of the new Harry. A hell of a challenge for Hans Zimmer who knows: he already had to face a similar situation by agreeing to sign the music for Man of Steel, succeeding John Williams on the Superman universe. “For three months, I was running around saying, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t because it’s John Williams. John Williams is… brilliant!'” he says.

At the time, Zack Snyder finally gave him some disarmingly simple advice: “Hans, it’s just a movie. It’s just a movie.” A sentence that helped him relieve the pressure.

For Harry Potter, Zimmer will be accompanied by Kara Talve and Anže Rozman, from the Bleeding Fingers Music collective. All three announced at the start of the year that they wanted to “reimagine” the musical universe of the saga to adapt it to the television format while respecting its heritage.

We’ll soon see what that means… Each season will adapt one of JK Rowling’s seven novels, with Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout in the roles of Harry, Hermione and Ron. The first season will be broadcast from December 25, 2026 on HBO Max in France.