Hans Zimmer Tapped to Compose Score for HBO’s Highly Anticipated Harry Potter Series

Well, it’s happening: HBO’s Harry Potter reboot just locked in a composer, and honestly, it’s kind of a flex. Hans Zimmer will be scoring the new series—yep, the same guy with a trophy shelf full of Oscars, including that recent banger score for Dune. Zimmer’s company, Bleeding Fingers Music, is also in on it, with composers Kara Talve and Anze Rozman joining the big wizardy project.

Swapping Out the Old Magic (Kinda)

If you’re thinking ‘Wait, are they messing with John Williams?’—you’re not wrong to wonder. The original films have an iconic sound; Williams’ ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ alone is borderline inescapable for anyone within earshot of pop culture. After Williams, there were also Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, and Alexandre Desplat, each adding their own spells to the saga’s musical legacy.

So, Zimmer’s got some pretty pointy shoes to fill. Is anyone actually worried? Not really. The guy is known for playing in other people’s sandboxes and turning out something memorable—his Batman scores managed to stand out after everyone thought Elfman’s theme was untouchable. Zimmer just seems to collect legendary franchises like Pokémon cards at this point.

What’s the New Score Going to Sound Like?

Zimmer and his Bleeding Fingers teammates aren’t being shy about the pressure. They put it pretty simply:

'The musical legacy of Harry Potter is a touch point for composers everywhere and we are humbled to join such a remarkable team on a project of this magnitude. The responsibility is something that myself, Kara Talve and Anze Rozman do not take lightly. Magic is all around us, often just beyond reach, but as in the world of Harry Potter, you simply must look for it. With this score we hope to bring audiences that little bit closer to it whilst honoring what has come before.'

In other words: they get it. They’re not here to bulldoze the past—they're trying to build on what’s already beloved, without falling into lazy nostalgia. Given Zimmer’s track record, there’s a good chance we’ll get something fresh and still, you know, suitably magical.

If You’re Counting Credentials...

• Hans Zimmer: Oscars for The Lion King, Dune; Batman for Nolan; Gladiator; Inception; Interstellar; basically half the movies you’ve streamed in the past five years
• Bleeding Fingers Music: Not just a cool band name—Zimmer’s specialty studio, known for National Geographic’s Planet Earth II, BBC’s Blue Planet II, and more
• Kara Talve & Anze Rozman: Up-and-coming talents with plenty of streaming docu-scores already under their belts

What’s Next?

There’s no summit date yet for when we’ll actually get to hear the new Harry Potter theme—or even catch a glimpse of the show, for that matter. But HBO’s making a statement with Zimmer at the helm: they’re not cheaping out on this reboot.

Fingers crossed the rest of the series matches the musical prestige. Otherwise, we’ll always have the old soundtracks—streamable on HBO Max in the US, if nostalgia hits hard.