How to Watch the ‘Harry Potter’ Saga: From Chronological Order to How the Movies Were Released

The ‘Harry Potter’ saga is back in the spotlight. The new reboot announced by Warner for its new Max platform (replacing HBO Max) will adapt the six original books written by JK Rowling. As with ‘The Lord of the Rings’, it’s not a big deal to watch the films chronologically or in order of release, but there are some details to keep in mind.

Order by Release Date

This is the easiest way to enter the world of ‘Harry Potter’. Why is that? Well, we have two big blocks here: on one side, the eight movies starring Daniel Radcliffe. On the other, the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ saga. The three films of the second wizarding universe come before it chronologically, but the original film saga introduces us to the magical world of Hogwarts and its rules, so it is perfect as an introduction.

The order would be as follows:

1. ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (2001)
2. ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (2002)
3. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004)
4. ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2005)
5. ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)
6. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (2009)
7. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ (2010)
8. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ (2011)
9. ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ (2016)
10. ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ (2018)
11. ‘Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets’ (2022)

Chronological Order of the Story

And then there is the chronological order of the story that starts with ‘Fantastic Beasts.’ The plot of these three films takes us about 70 years before what was seen in ‘Philosopher’s Stone,’ in addition to changing the setting: from the United Kingdom to the United States, specifically to New York. We will meet a new wizard, Newt Scamander, and the connection with the original ‘Harry Potter’ saga becomes closer with the appearance of a young version of Dumbledore, among other fan-service details.

This is the order if you choose to watch the saga according to the timeline of the story:

1. ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ (2016)
2. ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ (2018)
3. ‘Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore's Secrets’ (2022)
4. ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ (2001)
5. ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ (2002)
6. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’ (2004)
7. ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ (2005)
8. ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ (2007)
9. ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ (2009)
10. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ (2010)
11. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’ (2011)

Our Advice: How to Watch the ‘Harry Potter’ Movies

Although it may seem like a contradiction, the best way to watch the movies is in the order they were released. The ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films are indeed prequels, but the original ‘Harry Potter’ films are ideal to introduce you to this magical world: they are designed for the novice viewer since they were the first product of the franchise to be released. For this reason, they do not contain spoilers for the prequels, whose scripts were written years later.

In any case, J.K. Rowling’s creation is a world full of nuance and color, where the plots of the stories are not as important as the atmosphere and plausibility of their universes. So, if you are tired of these two sagas, we suggest you go to ‘Hogwarts Legacy’, where your thirst for magic can be more than quenched.

Image | Warner Discovery

Related | The Ultimate ‘Star Trek’ Guide: How and Where to Watch the Franchise in Order