Harry Potter is in the process of being rebooted for the small screen, with HBO’s new adaptation of The Sorcerer’s Stone arriving this coming December. Those behind the project have completely revamped elements of the big-screen forerunner to this TV version, to the extent that many characters and locations will differ significantly this time around.
One key element of the wizarding world that’s definitely changing is the origin story of Harry himself. That’s because a pivotal moment in the young life of the franchise’s titular hero is now happening at a new location, which we can expect to see at various points across HBO’s 10-year Harry Potter run.
The TV show’s first trailer has already shown us scenes not in The Sorcerer’s Stone movie, but the moment when Harry first comes face to face with his nemesis, Lord Voldemort, is more important than any of them. This scene has been expanded for HBO’s small-screen adaptation, while taking place against a different real-world backdrop from one we’ve seen before.
The Location Of Godric’s Hollow Has Been Changed For HBO’s Harry Potter
Godric’s Hollow is the place where Lily and James Potter were hiding with their baby son, Harry, after finding out that Lord Voldemort intended to kill him. Voldemort was scared that Harry would grow up to vanquish him, after a prophecy by Sybil Trelawney implying as such was reported to him by Severus Snape.
When Voldemort tracked the family down, baby Harry’s life was changed forever. In the Harry Potter movie series, scenes at Godric’s Hollow were filmed in the English villages of Lacock, Wiltshire, and Lavenham, Suffolk. It’s Lacock that appears briefly in the big-screen version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
We see a hooded Voldemort enter the Potter household, murder Lily, and point his wand at Harry. In HBO’s version of this scene, however, it will be the village of Lustleigh, Devon playing the part of Godric’s Hollow.
Given the prominent role that it’s set to play in Harry Potter season 1, we should expect this setting to remain at the same location throughout the TV show. Thanks to an eagle-eyed local photographer based in Devon, we already have a good idea about what the Lustleigh version of Godric’s Hollow looks like.
Godric’s Hollow Will Look Even Better In The New TV Show
The version of this remote magical setting in HBO’s Harry Potter seems more lively and expansive than its counterpart in the movies. Photos by William Dax that were shared widely on social media in October 2025 reveal a village teeming with trick-or-treaters, and multiple stone houses, including one with a thatched roof.
Lustleigh is set to become the latest Harry Potter location beset by tourists, once the first season of the TV show is released. The village should be prepared for more visits from the wizarding world, though, as Godric’s Hollow also plays a prominent role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, at the tailend of the series.
Harry Potter’s Origin Story Is Being Expanded By HBO
The night when Harry’s parents are killed by Lord Voldemort is the moment when his origin story as the so-called “Boy Who Lived” is born. We only catch a brief glimpse of this moment during a 30-second flashback in the movie version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which is narrated by Robbie Coltrane’s Rubeus Hagrid.
Yet, the appearance of dozens of TV extras trick-or-treating in William Dax’s photos of the Lustleigh set make it clear that the scene in which Voldemort first appears in Harry Potter is being expanded into something bigger. Firstly, it places that fateful night at a specific moment in time – Halloween, 1981 – which the movie rendering of the story doesn’t do.
What’s more, the TV iteration of the scene puts what happens to Harry and his parents in the context of an ordinary village setting, where other children are happily going about their business collecting candy in fancy dress. If anything, this juxtaposition makes the murder of the Potters more harrowing, and Voldemort’s first appearance in HBO’s Harry Potter even scarier.
- Release Date
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December 25, 2026
- Showrunner
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Francisca Gardiner
- Directors
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Mark Mylod
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Dominic McLaughlin
Harry Potter
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Janet McTeer
Minerva McGonagall
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