THE original cast of the Harry Potter movies is to reunite for a “Return to Hogwarts” TV special - but author JK Rowling won’t be joining them.

HBO Max said that the special show would be released on January 1, 2022 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first movie’s release.

The show will invite fans “on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time”.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premiered in the UK on November 10, 2001 and went on to make more than $1 billion US dollars at global box offices.

Streaming giant HBO Max, which is behind such hits as Brian Cox’s Succession, said that cast members including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) would feature in the TV special.

Director Chris Columbus will be joined by cast members including Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Gary Oldman (Sirius Black), and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), among many others.

However, Rowling will not be joining them. Instead, the author will only be appearing in archive footage, The National can confirm.

READ MORE: Emma Watson speaks out in support of transgender community amid JK Rowling row

It comes after key members of the Harry Potter cast, including Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson, spoke out against comments she had made about trans people.

Rowling was accused of “transphobia” after she joked about the title of an article which referred to “people who menstruate”.

Amid the backlash, Watson encouraged people to donate to charities which support trans people.

However, other cast members who will be appearing, including Fiennes and Coltrane, said they did not understand the uproar around the comments.

Coltrane said: “I don’t think what she said was offensive really. I don’t know why but there’s a whole Twitter generation of people who hang around waiting to be offended.”