When thefirst official trailerfor HBO's new seriesHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,dropped on Wednesday, it wasn't long before fans chimed in with their commentary online.
Among the biggest conversations on social media regarding the newly unveiled trailer has been about the color grading. Whereas the original film, released in 2001, looked warmer and more inviting, fans are wondering why this show, as seen in the trailer, looks much darker and gloomier by comparison.
"Why is the new Harry Potter so dark? Where's the whimsical color?"an X user asked.Another added: "The Harry Potter show looks exactly like the movie if it were drained of all color and magic and whimsy. Fun!"
"I think part of the disconnect with the new Harry Potter series is that it doesn't look very warm & inviting," aHarry Potterfan posited on X. "Look at the way it's shot compared to the original film. Where's the sense of wonder & awe to this world of magic? Why does the new series look so gloomy?"
On X, aHarry Potterfandelved deeper into their disappointmentwith the color grading in the trailer: "The biggest problem with the color grading in this abomination of a reboot is that the Harry Potter films very famously became progressively darker and less colorful from 1>8 to match the tone of the story and signal the rise of totalitarian evil. Starting out dark leaves little room to adjust the color grading as the story progresses," the X user wrote.
Yahoo reached out to HBO for comment but has not yet received a response.
Thoughnot everyonein theHarry Potterfandom is upset with the color-grading liberties the new series is taking.
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A Potterhead on X arguedthat the darker look of the HBO series is indicative of the fact that "TV and movies don't work the same way" anymore. "TV needs to be much more cohesive in its visuals. It's a completely legitimate choice, and it gives the series a more intimate feeling," they wrote. "There's no hard rule saying that grading has to match the tone of the story. Thinking this way just puts you into a boxed-in line of thinking," anX user added.
Another X user asked, simply, "Why do all of you want it to look identical to the movies??"
One X userbrought up a similar point, questioning the legitimacy of this complaint within theHarry Potterfandom: "Not really sure how this is a complaint. It's not by the same director as before, why would this director be locked in to having to follow the same creative choices the last ones did? This is a new team, their show is going to have its own visual identity as would be expected?"
Some social media usersargue that the darker color grading in the newHarryPotterseries alsoreflects the shifttowarddesaturated colors across modern television. While there's no hard-and-fast rule for why filmmakers may be gravitating toward darker aesthetics in their television shows, one reason, perhaps, is the use of dark coloring and low lighting as a narrative device to convey a grittier, more realistic perspective.
It's also worth noting that Mark Mylod and Adriano Goldman are the director and cinematographer of the forthcoming HBO series. They were not part of the original 2001 film.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first film of the blockbuster franchise, was directed by Chris Columbus and shot by John Seale. Columbus also directed the second film,Chamber of Secrets.
As theHarry Potterfilm franchise progressed,different directors and cinematographerswere brought on board. Alfonso Cuarón directed the third film,Prisoner of Azkaban,while Mike Newell directed the fourth,Goblet of Fire,and David Yates helmed the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth films,Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood PrinceandDeathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2.
As for cinematographers, Roger Pratt shot the second and fourth films, Michael Seresin shot the third, Slawomir Idziak shot the fifth, Bruncho Delbonnel shot the sixth, and Eduardo Serra shot the seventh and eighth installments.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stonepremieres on HBO on Christmas Day.