HBO may have a heavy hitter to work on the effects on Harry Potter

In every Harry Potter book, there are scenes that are clearly impossible to adapt without the help of a skilled effects team. Whether it's a transformation under the influence of Polyjuice Potion or confronting a sphinx during the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament, there is only so much that can be done practically. We now have a rumored identity for the company that can help bring those moments to life for the upcoming HBO television adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

A returning favorite?

Framestore, a well-known VFX company that was founded in 1986, has been involved in the wizarding world before and we can be grateful for that. Per an exclusive release from Deadline, they "brought to life many of J.K. Rowling's magical creatures in the Harry Potter films." In addition to this, they won Academy Awards for Blade Runner 2049 and Gravity.

From 2000 to 2011, they worked on eight films beloved by fans of the films. It is reported that Buckbeak, the hippogriff whose wrongful prosecution is a major factor in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was rendered by a "90-strong team working for 15 months to deliver more than 80 hippogriff shots for Harry Potter and the Pirsoner of Azkaban." Even more memorable was how "Framestore also created Dobby the House Elf (voiced by Toby Jones) for the Deathly Hallows." Given that much of the House Elf's story had fallen by the wayside in the film series, his role in the seventh movie had to be depicted with as much lifelike detail as possible and we can remember that this VFX team made his heart-rending sacrifice possible.

According to Deadline, "A source said Warner Bros. Discovery is also speaking to other visual effects companies, but Framestore is understood to be in pole position to clinch a contract." There is no comment from either party about this source.

What we do know is that there is an estimated release date. "Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, told Deadline in September that the Harry Potter series will premiere in late 2026 or early 2027." Deadline notes that while we don't know the schedule, production is "widely expected to be next year." This would dovetail with the reported idea that "the network is exploring shooting two seasons back-to-back to avoid dramatic changes in the cast's appearance between seasons."

We will keep an eye on further announcements to ramp up excitement for the show and all the possibilities that it represents.