EDITOR'S LETTER

WELCOME TO THIS very special Harry Potter magazine. It’s been 17 years since the franchise first arrived in cinemas with The Philosopher’s Stone,

and seven since Voldemort was finally vanquished in Deathly Hallows — Part 2, but it’s become stitched into the very fabric of film. Its legacy is now undeniable — making stars of its central trio, generating billions in box office takings and spawning its own prequel franchise (Fantastic Beasts — you may have heard of it).

Book adaptations have long existed. Book adaptations like this have never existed. Until Harry Potter.

To kick off our celebration we asked the directors — Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell and David Yates — to revisit their experiences behind the camera. The result: four fascinating and very personal viewpoints on what it takes to create one of the world’s most loved characters and cinema’s most successful movie franchises.

To follow that, we dug deep into the Empire archives — after all, we were on set of every single Harry Potter film. Together they tell the fascinating, complete story.