The cameras are rolling: Harry Potter series officially begins filming at Leavesden

14 July 2025. A date that has entered Wizarding World history.

Principal photography on HBO’s Harry Potter series officially began. Cameras rolled at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden — and with the start of filming came something none of us quite expected to feel so strongly about: the first official image of Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter.

Round glasses. Lightning bolt scar. The production’s working title is “Dark Train” — a codename adopted to maintain some privacy during filming, standard practice for productions of this scale.

The crew behind the camera

Mark Mylod is directing the first episodes, with Adriano Goldman as cinematographer. Holly Waddington is responsible for the costumes — one of the most scrutinised jobs on any Harry Potter production — and Mara LePere-Schloop is the production designer.

One detail that says a great deal about the production’s care for its young cast: a temporary school has been built inside the studio, designed to accommodate up to 600 students. The children will continue their academic studies throughout filming. It’s a logistical note, but also an important human one.

Leavesden, again

Leavesden is where it all started. Where a boy called Daniel Radcliffe put on glasses for the first time, where Emma Watson perfected her hand-raising technique, where Rupert Grint turned genuinely green for certain scenes.

Now, in the same studios, a new story begins. And we’ll be here, from the very first day to the last.

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