Quidditch, the real-life sport inspired by the airborne game played by young wizards in “Harry Potter,” is ditching its whimsical name. Now, athletes will mount broomsticks to play quadball.

US Quadball and Major League Quadball, the sports’ two governing bodies in North America, both announced the new name of “quadball” this week, which is set to go into effect this summer. The International Quidditch Association plans to adopt the new name, too, the organizations said.

There were two reasons for the name change, per the governing bodies: The sport wanted to separate itself from “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling and her anti-transgender rhetoric. Also, neither organization owned the “quidditch” trademark. (Warner Bros., which owns the “quidditch” trademark, and CNN share parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.)

Rowling has increasingly shared views that take aim at transgender people, particularly trans women. Her comments have alienated many of her fans and several of the actors who brought her stories to screen, including Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson, who have both publicly supported trans people.

Both organizations denounced her positions, saying that the sport was “one of the most progressive sports in the world on gender equality,” referencing a rule that requires teams to have no more than four players of the same gender on the field at once.

And so, last December, the then-quidditch leaders decided to find a new name for the sport by surveying players. Options at the time included quadraball, quidball and the eventual winner, among others.

“This name change is a game changer for us, and we are looking to make the most of it,” Major League Quadball’s founders said in an open letter to players.

The sport formerly known as quidditch came to the Muggle world in 2005, when two Middlebury College students started playing it on their campus. The game is a mix of rugby and dodgeball, among others, and features hoops that players must hoist balls through. Players must be mounted on broomsticks throughout the game.

Since its founding, the sport has expanded to 40 countries and nearly 600 teams, according to the governing bodies.

The 2022 summer Harry Potter sets are now available for purchase, so let’s take a look at the next one on our review list. In the 76389 Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets from January, LEGO included smaller versions of locations that have already appeared in the modular Hogwarts series. In 76402 Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office, we see a more detailed version of a location that has appeared in smaller renditions since 2018. Is it worth the dedicated attention? How does it fit into the modular Hogwarts collection? Let’s dive in and take a look at this set, featuring 6 minifigures and 654 pieces, which is available now for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £69.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Contents and build

As usual, the back of the box highlights the play features of the set with some inset detail shots. Inside, we found one of the new cardboard envelopes protecting the instructions and sticker sheet. These are slowly replacing plastic sleeves and are quite welcome; they feel higher-end than the plastic wrapping as well. We also find 5 numbered bags and one large loose plate. We know we’re not alone in looking forward to paper parts bags making these content shots largely irrelevant, or at least much less full of glare!

Bag one starts with Dumbledore’s office with his desk, some very nice bookshelves, the sorting hat, and a perch for Fawkes – who is represented in the small just-reborn form here, with a welcome new red color of the small bird piece. Interestingly we’re not building from the bottom up, but starting in the middle. The bookshelves are one of the highlights of the building in this set, using a variety of pieces to represent different bindings and textures, several different colors, and several sideways techniques. The result is on par with Creator Expert builds and something worth re-using in your own creations.

The next floor has an alcove for the Pensieve. There isn’t much to say about the structure here – you can clip some turrets to the side to give it a bit of visual interest, and from the outside, it looks like a perfectly good tower section, but not notable for anything. The Pensieve itself uses one of the new opalescent blues, which is a very appropriate and lovely shimmery effect. It should be on the same level as the rest of Dumbledore’s office, but that would take a larger scale than the interior of these modular sections gets.

The top of the tower has a Hogwarts crest on the outside and holds the Sword of Gryffindor on the interior. This is another area that makes sense for exterior detail, but on the inside, should not be a separate floor. The Sword itself has appeared twice before – once with Griphook in the Collectible Minifigures, and again in last year’s 76389 Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets. It’s a great fantasy sword even if you already have one.

Lastly, we go down to the ground floor and build a section of the Hogwarts Library. The section is outfitted with desks, lamps, and of course, many books. The shelves are similar to the ones in Dumbledore’s office, but also incorporate a function to make two of the books levitate or fly out into the room when assemblies on the outside are pushed in. The pieces are disguised on the outside wall as a tree growing from or next to the wall; it’s a good thing that we already broadly accept that the interior and exterior of these modular sections are not connected, since otherwise, we’d really fear for the root damage occurring to the books! The function works reasonably well though it is a little fragile, especially where the books connect by a single clip.

And that’s it! When assembled per the instructions, the exterior makes a nice castle section. The lower two levels include side areas where minifigures can be posed, almost like a display stand.

The Minifigures

Harry and Hermione, with short legs given their ages in the Chamber of Secrets, are understandable but uninspired choices. All of the elements included here have appeared before; the exact Hermione minifigure is in 76387 Fluffy Encounter, and all that makes Harry unique is the Invisibility Cloak.

The Cloak is similar to the one that appeared in the Harry Potter Minifigures line but subtly different. In the photo below, the cloak in this set is on the left, and the previous version is on the right. The new one has a border which is quite attractive, though the borderless version might be closer to the source material. It’s tough to tell, though, given that the dang thing is, you know, invisible. The new one also feels a bit more substantial. It isn’t stiff like a starched minifigure cape, but the collectible minifigures cape does feel a bit flimsy by comparison. If you already have the older one there isn’t any must-have upgrade here, but it’s a very attractive accessory.

Next are three of the four included Hogwarts staff members. Snape has appeared before with these exact pieces and many similar variations. Dumbledore gets another unique print, gold details on an attractive dark red base. The star of the show, though, is the never previously seen in minifigure form Madame Pince, Madam Librarian (Maaariannnn!… oh, sorry, wrong movie). She has a lovely sand green print and a new hat + hair mold, with a square instead of a round brim.

Dumbledore minifigures often have lovely printing on the front of the torso that’s almost entirely obscured by his beard, and this one is no exception. Here’s a look at the unobstructed front of the figure, where you can see the design continued nicely between the torso and legs. There’s nothing that makes this only a Harry Potter print, and no flesh color of any sort, so it’s a versatile print to make your own wizard or otherwise elegantly robed characters.

Argus Filch is the final character and staff included, along with his beloved cat Mrs. Norris. Filch has appeared before but this version has all-new printing for the torso and legs, giving him a reddish-brown outfit; all of his previous outfits have been dark gray. The head also appears to be a new print. Mrs. Norris brings a new unique color and print to LEGO cats, which is sure to be popular well beyond Harry Potter fans. Between Mrs. Norris and Crookshanks in 76408 12 Grimmauld Place, the Harry Potter theme is doing feline fans a major service in providing diverse fur colors!

Finished Build and Recommendation

The impression of this set may come down to how you feel about books. I really enjoyed the bookcase construction and the variety of colors and textures. They’re relatively small parts of the overall model, but they left me with a good feeling about the build experience. And the overall build is nice. It’s perhaps generous to call it four stories, but it’s reasonably substantial, especially on the outside.

The instructions include an illustration of what you can do with many of the modular Hogwarts sections combined. The example looks great and makes good use of the modularity – the sets aren’t just stacked next to each other, but pieces are swapped around here and there to make an impressive whole. Below are some photos of this set combined with 76401 Hogwarts Courtyard: Sirius’s Rescue, the other modular section in this wave. The possibilities aren’t quite as broad with just these two sets, but it still shows the possibilities. Certainly, as an eight-year-old, I would have been all over mix-and-match towers to populate with all kinds of knights and wizards.

So it’s a nice set, but is it a good value? $80 for about 650 pieces, with six minifigures but only three of them being substantially new, and only one unique character, feels very expensive. Even 76403 The Ministry of Magic, which we found ultimately disappointing, seems better value for parts and figures, with 990 pieces and 10 largely unique minifigures for $100. There are some large pieces for the walls and roofs, but not a huge number. There are no large animals or other big specialized molds. Perhaps this is the new normal with recently announced price increases, but our recommendation is that you probably want to wait for a discount on this one.

76402 Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office contains 654 pieces and 6 minifigures. It is available  now from the LEGO Shop and worldwide for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £69.99 or from Amazon. It may also be available from third-party sellers on eBay.

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The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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(Pocket-lint) – Harry Potter fans rejoice! The reunion that you’ve been waiting for is actually happening: Return to Hogwarts sees Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson joining filmmaker Chris Columbus and cast members from across the Harry Potter films heading back to Hogwarts.

Similar to the Friends Reunion, you’ll be able to tune in, join the cast and relive some of the greatest moments from the Harry Potter movies.

Return to Hogwarts when can I watch it?

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts will be broadcast on 1 January 2022. That’s right, it will be shown on New Year’s Day, giving you some perfect viewing nostalgia.

In the US it was available at the stroke of midnight, and it’s also available in the UK now too.

How and where to watch Return to Hogwarts

Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts is on HBO Max in the US and it will be available to stream, as we said, from midnight on New Year’s Day.

In the UK, you’ll be able to watch Return to Hogwarts on Sky or through Now. It is available now on Sky Max.

This is basically the same arrangement as with the Friends show recently.

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Who will appear in Return to Hogwarts?

While most of the attention will be on Harry, Ron and Hermione (Radcliffe, Grint and Watson), we have a list of confirmed participants:

• Helena Bonham Carter – Bellatrix Lestrange
• Robbie Coltrane – Hagrid
• Ralph Fiennes – Lord Voldemort
• Jason Isaacs – Lucius Malfoy
• Gary Oldman – Sirius Black
• Imelda Staunton – Delores Umbridge
• Tom Felton – Draco Malfoy
• James Phelps – Fred Weasley
• Oliver Phelps – George Weasley
• Mark Williams – Arthur Weasley
• Bonnie Wright – Ginny Weasley
• Alfred Enoch – Dean Thomas
• Matthew Lewis – Neville Longbottom
• Evanna Lynch – Luna Lovegood
• Ian Hart – Professor Quirrell
• Toby Jones – Dobby (the voice of)

This isn’t as exhaustive list as we expect other characters will also appear. Producer David Heyman will also be joined by directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and David Yates in the show.

Is there a Hogwarts Reunion trailer?

Yes, there is both a teaser and a trailer. The teaser doesn’t reveal too much about what we’ll see in the Harry Potter reunion, but a tease did show some of the characters candidly receiving invitations to Hogwarts.

The trailer gives a much better look at what to expect and will certainly raise the pulse of any Harry Potter fan. You may even cry (along with the cast). But seriously, here we get to see some snippets of the conversation between our favourite characters and what looks like a spectacular Hogwarts setting for the reunion. It was actually filmed at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London – a must visit for any Harry Potter fan.

How can I catch up on the Harry Potter movies?

There are plenty of options for watching the films and Christmas is a great time to watch them, as Christmas plays a part in most of the movies, so there is something slightly festive about them.

You can catchup on the Harry Potter movies on HBO Max in the US and the entire collection will also be available on Sky, with a pop-up channel from 19 December including the two Fantastic Beasts movies too.

To brush up on the best order to watch the movies, check out our viewing order – including the latest addition, The Secrets of Dumbledore.

It’s only been a few days since Netflix started streaming The Gray Man, its most expensive film to date, but the company has already announced plans to turn it into a major franchise. A sequel is in the works with star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo returning. Netflix didn’t say when the follow-up is expected to arrive.

A spin-off from Zombieland and Deadpool screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese is in development too. Netflix says that movie will explore a different aspect of The Gray Man universe, but it’s keeping quiet on the details for now.

While critics by and large had a lukewarm reaction to The Gray Man, the film appears to be a hit with viewers. It has a 91 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It debuted as the number one movie on Netflix in 92 countries when it was released last Friday. By Sunday, viewers had collectively streamed 88.55 million hours of the movie, Netflix said.

Whether that apparent success translates into helping Netflix retain subscribers and attract new ones remains to be seen. The company lost almost a million subscribers last quarter, though the attrition wasn’t as bad as Netflix feared.

Netflix spent a reported $200 million to make The Gray Man. So, along with moves the company is making elsewhere, it’s not a huge shock that Netflix is turning it into a franchise. Sequels to other Netflix Blockbusters are in the pipeline, including follow-ups to Extraction and Army of the Dead. Netflix also snapped up the sequels to the terrific murder mystery film Knives Out.

In case it’s not clear, Netflix is very eager to build beloved franchises of its own. “We want to have our version of Star Wars or our version of Harry Potter, and we’re working very hard to build that,” the company’s vice president of original series Matthew Thunell told Reuters last week.

Netflix does have a few hit franchises already. A Stranger Things spin-off series and stage play are in development. The company has made a Korean version of La Casa de Papel and is working on a spin-off. It’s expanding Squid Game, Bridgerton and The Witcher beyond the core shows as well.

Update 7/26 3:43PM ET: Added first-weekend viewership figures for The Gray Man.

They needed an actor to play a younger version of Albus Dumbledore.

It sounds as if the folks making 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” — the second Wizarding World adventure set decades before author J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” saga — didn’t exactly have to beg Jude Law to take on the role of the powerful wizard.

“I mean, it was kind of a no-brainer: ‘Would you like to play Albus Dumbledore?’ ‘Yes, I would,’” Law says during a virtual news conference for the follow-up to “Grindelwald,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which lands in U.S. theaters this week. “I felt like I’d been in preparation, subconsciously, from the minute I started reading the (“Potter”) books to my children.

“Gosh, there’s just so much in the character to mine and to investigate as an actor — that’s before you even get into this extraordinary world of magic.”

“The Secrets of Dumbledore,” co-written by Rowling, continues the story launched with 2016’s “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” It features series mainstays Eddie Redmayne, as magizoologist Newt Scamander; Dan Fogler, as baker and Muggle Jacob Kowalski; Alison Sudol, as mindreader Queenie Goldstein; and Ezra Miller, as Credence Barebone, a powerful but disturbed wizard who was revealed in “Grindelwald” to be a member of the Dumbledore family.

(The movie also features Katherine Waterson, an Auror from America and Newt’s love interest, but only briefly. The actress did not take part in the news conference.)

It sees Mads Mikkelsen in the role of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, the actor taking over from the departed Johnny Depp. Grindelwald continues to build support in the magical world for a war against the Muggles, whom he finds quite distasteful.

Early on in the movie, viewers will begin to learn more about these “Secrets of Dumbledore,” starting with just how intertwined his past is with Grindelwald’s.

“I always imagined that being Dumbledore was always quite a lonely place, being that he was brilliant and outstanding at a very young age — to the point that he probably felt somewhat isolated,” Law says. “Then, suddenly, he meets someone who is as brilliant and matches him and inspires him, and that kind of connection is very, very, very powerful — more so when you’re at a young age.

“I think it’s important, then, to also remember what their time together would have been like — incredibly dynamic, incredibly cherished and special,” he continues. “And then this awful moment (arrives) where you realize you’re on a different path; you’re actually moving away from each other. But that doesn’t necessarily take away from the explosive kernel, the firework that went off initially.”

The Wizarding World last year celebrated its 20th anniversary — Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (titled “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in this country) was released in 2001 — and “Dumbledore” director David Yates now has been at the helm of the last seven films, dating to 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

Yates says he values the ever-expanding collective of talented folks that has grown out of the continuing endeavor.

“When you make a movie, it’s a huge logistical enterprise, and it’s tough creatively, logistically, technically,” Yates says. “So going into that experience with people you respect and admire but who also can take the strain of it with some real dignity and some real humor is essential. And (those are) the qualities I’ve found in many of the people I’ve worked with in front of the camera and behind the camera.”

There’s a real sense of family, he says.

“We use that word quite a bit, but it’s important because that doesn’t (always) happen in our industry because it’s a tough business.”

Yates is then asked why, in his view, the movies are so enduring.

“They’ve become a safe place to go for lots of people,” he says. “They celebrate certain values — loyalty, love, friendship, empowering the outsider/the person you always underestimate — things that resonate for a lot of people in the real world, as they do in this magical space. It’s a beautiful thing to be part of stories that create a safe space for some people when they go to the movie theater to watch them. I’m very proud of that.”

“The Secrets of Dumbledore” reveals the magical sides to previously unseen locations, including a forest in China and Germany’s Ministry of Magic.

Says producer Tim Lewis, “One of the exciting things — certainly for the audience and certainly for us filmmakers — is we get to open up the magical world and go to completely new areas.”

However, he acknowledged the movie also returns fans to some favorite spots, none more beloved than the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Its future headmaster, Dumbledore is a professor there at the moment, as is Jessica Williams’ Charms Professor Eulalie “Lally” Hicks, a newcomer to the franchise.

“Oh yeah, I got chills,” she says of being on the Hogwarts set. “I started reading those books in the third grade, and a lot of those books hadn’t come out yet.”

She found being in the Great Hall especially meaningful.

“And then seeing the kids in their robes, their wizarding uniforms … I wanted to cry,” she says. “You know the sensation of wanting to squeeze something cute? I wanted to just squeeze a lot of the kids and just shake them.

“But then I realized I was an actor, and it’s a liability, so I didn’t squeeze the kids. But the sensation was there,” Williams adds. “It was totally a pinch-me moment, and it was really surreal.”

Returning to the subject of his portrayal of Dumbledore, Law is asked whether he needed to rewatch the “Harry Potter” movies to match up the portrayals of the character as an older wizard, first by Richard Harris and then by Michael Gambon.

“The major lure was to fill in gaps and go back and explore themes and sides of his character that were hinted at in the books and suggested in the films,” he says. “Yeah, any excuse to go back and rewatch — I was probably caught rewatching them over and over saying, ‘I’m doing research! I’m studying!’

“Honestly,” he continues, “It was kind of important, we felt, to free ourselves from the Dumbledore we knew because he wasn’t quite that man yet. But, at the same time, there were definite qualities that both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon gave the character that I wanted to steal, I suppose — the humor and the relish of life and impish behavior. Both of them have a sort of gravitas, a soulfulness, that I thought was really beautiful and complicated.”

Speaking of “complicated” things, Yates uses that word, with a laugh, to describe the plot of “The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and he says it took the filmmakers a while put all the pieces together.

“So with this story in particular, we wanted it not only to be emotional, but we wanted it to be enjoyable and for it to be a real treat — and for it to lean into the values of some of the earlier ‘Potter’ films that had whimsy and charm, humor and humanity.”

To that last quality, Yates recalls a private screening a few weeks earlier in which a single youth was among the select few in attendance.

“Everyone turned to him when the lights went out and said, ‘What do you think?’” Yates says. “And he looked at me, and he said, ‘I liked it. It’s really human.’ And I thought, ‘We’ll take that.’ We made a film with all this extraordinary stuff in it, and the one thing he takes away from it: ‘It’s really human.’ That’s a testament to the performances and the story and everything.”

 

Dumbledore is gay, “Harry Potter” fans finally saw that backstory play out onscreen in the third prequel spinoff “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.” 

“Harry Potter” Professor Albus Dumbledore (played by a bearded Jude Law) had an intense meeting over tea in the movie’s opening scene with his former love-turned-archfoe Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen, who took over from Johnny Depp). Later, the two face off in a long-teased wand battle. 

The social media reaction from fans still on the “Fantastic Beasts” train was varied. “What’s the secret?? That he’s gay??? We already knew that, bro,” wrote Twitter user @animeberet.

“I love so much how they’re handling Dumbledore being gay … Hope we see more,” wrote @PotterxFlash.

J.K. Rowling says:Dumbledore, Grindelwald had sexual relationship; fans mourn missed opportunity

Everything that’s happened in the legal battle

The meeting between Dumbledore and Grindelwald takes place at an elegant art deco restaurant in the opening moments of “Secrets of Dumbledore,” which is co-written by Rowling. Grindelwald makes clear he wants to exterminate all Muggles, a plan which Dumbledore discussed when they were young, but no longer supports.

“I went along because I was in love with you,” Dumbledore says.

The tea does not end well, with Grindelwald warning, “There’s nothing you can do to stop me, Albus.”

All the movies from J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ universe, ranked

An additional question might be: Who is loving “Fantastic Beasts” now?

The long-delayed movie opened with just $43 million at the box office. “The Secrets of Dumbledore” won the holiday weekend, but with the franchise’s weakest showing yet. The first film debuted with $74.4 million in 2016.

“Not many people cared,” says Jeff Bock, box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “The dramatic tension is just not there, showing how much the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise has eroded in comparison to ‘Harry Potter.’ “

multiple online posts which outraged fans who viewed them as transphobic. Even “Harry Potter” stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson publicly criticized the controversial opinions expressed by Rowling in a personal essay published on her website in June 2020.

To add to the woes, the Dumbledore reveal was pre-empted by the news that Warner Bros. has agreed to cut two lines – “because I was in love with you” and “the summer Gellert and I fell in love” – for the movie’s release in China. “A six second cut was requested and Warner Bros. accepted those changes to comply with local requirements, but the spirit of the film remains intact,” the studio said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. 

The franchise’s diminishing returns could determine whether two planned films get a theatrical release or a big budget ($200 million for “Secrets of Dumbledore”). While the finale is primed for a Grindelwald-Dumbledore confrontation, neither film has been officially greenlit by Warner Bros. 

“These films just don’t have the magic of the ‘Harry Potter’ books or films,” says Bock. “With these numbers, the future of ‘Fantastic Beasts’ is heading towards HBO Max. Changes have to happen.”

Following the extended gameplay demo of Hogwarts Legacy, Harry Potter fans believe they’ve found a connection between one of the game’s main villains and a major Harry Potter book villain.

During the demo, fans were introduced to Victor Rookwood, a dark wizard who has formed an alliance with the goblin Ranrok and his goblin rebellion.

While not much was shown off about the character, fans believe that Victor Rookwood may be connected to the Death Eaters, the group of dark wizards led by Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, which is set roughly 100 years after Hogwarts Legacy.

The connection comes from the character’s surname, Rookwood. That name may sound familiar to huge Harry Potter fans, but they might not immediately recognise where they’ve heard it, as it’s only referenced briefly in the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Augustus Rookwood was an unspeakable (essentially a secret agent for the Ministry of Magic) during the first wizarding war, which took place in the 1980s in the Harry Potter canon.

He’s first referenced during a flashback in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang Institute is on trial for this role as a Death Eater.

Karkaroff named Augustus Rookwood as a Death Eater, revealing that he had been supplying information to Voldemort while working at the Ministry of Magic. He would later appear in Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Surnames are very rarely coincidences in Wizarding World canon, and considering that the game takes place only a few generations before Augustus was born, he’s very likely a descendant of this new villain.

While due to the time period, it’s unlikely that there will be many direct characters from the book series will appear, some ghosts, such as Nearly-Headless Nick have been shown off. The game takes place around 50 years before the events of the Fantastic Beasts films, so it’s technically possible that characters, or their ancestors, from that series, could appear.

Warner Bros. Games has confirmed plans to release Hogwarts Legacy during the 2022 holiday season. The game has also been announced for Nintendo Switch.

Now, this is something we haven’t seen before. At least in this form. Though it isn’t classified in the Hogwarts Momemnts line, this delightful little playset fits in well with the motif. The scaling is a bit off (it’d be more of a pencil case in comparison) but, what can you do? If I were 8 years old and in love with the Harry Potter franchise, I’d definitely lug this and the others around from daycare to my grandma’s house just to play. Don’t worry, though 76398 Hogwarts Magical Trunk may be 8+, there are a ton of great grabs in there for the pluses. Adults and kids can find one of the coolest sticker sheets ever laden with Harry Potter art, not to mention all the extra pieces, giving you tons of ways to customize your trunk and show your House pride. Oh, and I almost forgot about the plethora of minifigure heads and hairs to customize your own Hogwarts students. This 603-piece-set is available March 1st for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99.

Unboxing the set and contents

Okay, so here’s the front and back. They both just show off the features of the set which includes tons of customization and a locking mechanism for securing the contents of the folding playset.

The first thing you’ll notice is the Hogwarts letter style of the instruction booklet. It’s a fun way to introduce the set, given that this is meant to be a customizable item for each individual. The letter is something I always wanted to get but the sticker sheet we get is a bonus that most Hogwarts students probably don’t. From Hogwarts house memorabilia to Triwizard Cups and love potions, there are 37 different stickers (with some repeats) for you to use at your discretion.

The build

First off are four dual-sided pieces of…furniture? The fireplace may be just a grey wall on the other side but House Point tracker has a bookcase on the other side.

The other two are wardrobes with tan walls and candlestick stickers. Here they are with the rest of the small builds included in the set. Some of these items, like the couch and the benches, can be rebuilt into other items like these comfy chairs and this chess set. We get a recoloring of the owl with spread wings as well as a Sorting hat. There’s also a golden chest with a flat lid and two new 2×3 printed tiles of the Mauraders’ Map and the Quibbler covers. The sticker for Advanced Potion Making is a new version of the book cover, with the previous one coming in powdered blue with reminiscent art and no words. I’m glad we’re given a legible version, but I think both of them make for usable props since Ron and Harry fight over the “newer” one first anyway. Most interesting though is the keyring and key piece. Let’s build the trunk so I can show you how it works!

The locking mechanism makes use of a new round 2x2x2/3 plate with a hook attached to a turntable. There is a crossbar hole in the center, like most regular round 2×2 plates, which the key just fits into. The piece is structured in such a way that it won’t stay in the hole, just engage the mechanism.

This fits into the center of the bottom section with two handle builds attached to either side and a bunch of brackets. Those come in handy later for the decorative portion.

The top of the trunk is composed of the new tan road plate (which I hope is a precursor of various styles yet to come) and new 4×8 inverted tiles in nougat.

After attaching this portion to jointed arms connected to the bottom, you fill out the front with more brackets for decoration. A 1×4 plate with an attached bar is also added, complimenting the locking mechanism on the other side. Truth be told, I thought it would be more complicated than this but the lock is really that simple.

You can see them lined up after you fold the build and unite the two sides to decorate. After making the darker bands and putting the Hogwarts label over the gap to hide it, you can stick your key into the special socket piece and lock the two sides together. Blank gold oval tiles above the handles give you a place to put the blank label stickers that LEGO provided. You have 4 stickers which you can write your name on with a permanent marker.

Now you can cover the tan section with whatever pattern you prefer. I went for one celebrating all Houses but there are enough pieces to dedicate it to one or to achieve a ton of other patterns. I’m sure people will love showing off their individual trunks, especially when you remember that you have all of those stickers to further customize it! I saved mine…for reasons…but I’m sure a few will make their way onto the trunk eventually. I’m also sure I won’t be alone in this practice given the utility that these stickers provide.

There you have it! Kind of, I mean. All of the previously shown furniture and extra pieces fit tightly inside with the fireplace, House Points, and cabinets lining the middle. Keep in mind that everything needs to say on the bottom side of the hinged section for the folding function to work. Those large elements form the back of the build and hold everything in place when it’s closed. It’s admittedly not very pretty but it does the trick and keeps everything in there as long as you don’t pack too many minfigures in there too.

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The Minifigures

Building a custom minifigure just got a lot easier for a decent portion of the world. Outside of the wealth of minifigure hairpieces in various colors, LEGO has also introduced a new skin tone for this set. Color #370, called Medium Brown, fits nicely between reddish-brown and medium nougat. There are still plenty of other skin tones that LEGO can strive to provide in the future but this is a good step towards being more inclusive.

There are 12 different heads with two alternate faces for each one, including the Harry and McGonagall faces. Each skin tone has four different possible faces thanks to alternate prints for all of them.

The major downfall of these prints is that they’re obviously made for children. Adult LEGO fans will have to wait for more heads in the new skin tone to get more mature faces. Still, kids can have lots of fun making stories of their own. All the extra hairpieces let you remix the students as much as you like and there’s plenty of setup for fallen candy, dubious potions, and odd publications given all the extra accessories.

There are a few rare hair colors, such as the pink bun shown here, but I’d love to see LEGO include more natural hairstyles along with newer skin tones. Instead, we get hair so that we can recreate characters like Draco Malfoy. Kids wishing to play through the series will surely enjoy this but I found it most fun to help him trick everyone else into eating nasty Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans after he ate one himself.

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The completed model, conclusion recommendation

The main allure of this set is that its interior can be used as a blank slate to recreate multiple scenes from the franchise. It’s almost like the Class sets built like books that work as portable playsets. What’s different is this is meant, at least according to the box art and instruction, to be the Great Hall or “the Common Room” (that looks more like a dorm room given that there is a bed in the middle of it). The large hinged panels with stickers on both sides allow you to decorate the hall or the room as you see fit, extending the build a bit more vertically. They work best in these two versions of the Great Hall.

Otherwise, you can end up with very confusing scenarios like this where a Ravenclaw is decorating a room with a Gryffindor banner on the wall. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention? Oops. To be fair, this scene requires you to rebuild the benches into a bed and a table so maybe I just got distracted. This is possible for the kiddos to do with all the normal pieces that would fit in the Trunk. Each bench actually has different colored modified plates for each house stacked and hidden underneath it. The same can be said of the chess set and chairs which use only pieces from the couch. You can see that in the gallery below.

It’s hard to say if this set is worth the price point but I think it’s easily excused given the wealth of custom stickers. Certainly, the number of pieces matches the price and since you won’t really end up using all of them, this could be a good parts booster for Harry Potter builders. Like the books, I’m sure some kids will take these around but while the lock is certainly tight, the back enclosure isn’t super secure. I packed it full of all the minifigures and though I could get it closed, the back elements were bulging out. There aren’t many connection points after all. I’m sure someone will end up buying a bunch of these and making some pretty cool builds out of them though so I’m actually rather glad this set is coming. I can’t wait to see what you make!

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76399 Hogwarts Magical Trunk contains 603 pieces and is available from the LEGO Shop and worldwide starting March 1st for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99 or from Amazon. It is also available from third-party sellers on eBay.

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The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Check out the gallery for even more images:

Hogwarts Legacy must have cast an enchantment spell on me during Sony’s State of Play event because I’m utterly spellbound by how good it looks. 

My interest in Harry Potter petered out shortly after the release of the third book, The Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s not because I didn’t like the books, I place the blame solely on the shoulders of the film adaptations. The Harry Potter in my head was usurped by the bad acting of a young Daniel Radcliffe and co. and I’ve never been able to shift their portrayals since. 

Fans are already getting emotional over HBO Max‘s first-look teaser for the much-anticipated “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.”

The preview, which aired Sunday night on TBS and Cartoon Network following the “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses,” featured appearances from Robbie Coltrane (who played Hagrid), Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) and Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley).

The retrospective event premieres Jan. 1 in celebration of the beloved film franchise’s 20th anniversary, which began with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001.

“Goosebumpsss,” said one fan, while another viewer called it an “emotional rollercoaster,” echoing thousands of fans on social media, many of whom responded to the teaser with tearful emojis.

“This is the first thing I’m watching in the new year. I’ve grown up with Harry Potter my whole life; books and movies,” one fan added. “Seeing the original cast back at Hogwarts 20 years later will be an emotional rollercoaster.”

The series’ breakout stars — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — will be in attendance, as will the full cast of veteran supporting actors — Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Tom Felton, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright, Alfred Enoch and Evanna Lynch, to name a few.

“There’s magic in the air here with this incredible cast, as they all return home to the original sets of Hogwarts, where they began 20 years ago,” said the reunion’s executive producer at Warner Bros., Casey Patterson, in November. “The excitement is palpable as they prepare to take their fans on a very special and personal journey, through the making of these incredible films.”

Of course, missing from the unscripted special will be the late Alan Rickman (Severus Snape), who passed away in 2016 at the age of 69 following a short battle with Pancreatic cancer — which fans lamented on social media.

“No, I’m not crying…” added one fan in mourning, alongside a gloomy silhouette of Rickman as Professor Snape.

Also noticeably missing from the lineup, the story’s creator, author J.K. Rowling, who has been laying low since making controversial comments last year that some fans have deemed “transphobic.”

“I’m not gonna lie, I wish JK Rowling was part of it. Her insights would have been relevant. She’ll be missed,” one said, adding, “I still think she’s trash as a person tho.”