The history of LEGO® Harry Potter™

Some things never get old. And by some things we mean LEGO® Harry Potter™.

It’s been twenty years since we first encountered the bespectacled boy wizard, his friends and nemeses on the big screen and as tiny LEGO minifigures. Yep, two whole decades. Riddikulus, huh?

For those of us who grew up reading the books, the movies opened a brand-new world of adventure – where kids could be quirky and kick-ass at the same time, with burgeoning magical abilities that, together, could properly defeat evil, hands down.

To celebrate this magical milestone of time, we have released a new and very special LEGO set – the LEGO Hogwarts™ Icons – Collector’s Edition that pays homage to magical moments in the films. As the Weasley twins would say, it’s ‘wicked’.

And it’s safe to say that it wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for its ancestors. In those twenty years, we’ve conjured various awesome LEGO sets to give fans a medium to build and play out such adventures in their very own wizarding worlds™. 

“IF YOU’RE SURE, BETTER BE… GRYFFINDOR™!!”

It all began for us with Harry being sorted into Gryffindor™ at the start of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone™ with set 4701. Yep, that was the first LEGO Harry Potter set EVER. Its designer, Henrik Saaby, explains that “we wanted for kids to be able to do the Sorting for themselves. So we made it as a spinning wheel.

“THAT THING HAS A NAME?!”

The movie famously saw Harry, Hermione and Ron meet three-headed pooch ‘Fluffy’. In our (much) more recent Hogwarts: Fluffy Encounter, you can play out that hackle-raising moment in a modular set which forms part of Hogwarts. You even get a celebratory anniversary minifigure of the OG golden girl, Hermione!

“AIN’T NO SAFER PLACE”

Talking of gold, we love the coinage in this old Gringotts Bank set, complete with prototypical Hagrid™ and some slightly terrifying LEGO goblins…

“KNIGHT TO H3”

Another iconic movie moment features in another current set: Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess. Recreate when Harry, Hermione and Ron stepped into the most aggressive chess game ever!

“HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR!”

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, a snake is petrifying the kids (literally), thanks to ‘You-Know-Who’. And with our brand-new version of Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets (76389), you can battle the Basilisk as it emerges from the mouth of Salazar Slytherin, and collect eleven(!) minifigures, including Golden Voldemort™ (yeah, we said his name, so what?).

“FASCINATING CREATURES…”

Harry Potter fans know how important Fawkes™ proves in that thrilling scene, and with the new Fawkes, Dumbledore’s Phoenix (76394) set, you get both a huge tribute AND a tiny version of our combustible friend.

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ movie is action-packed – and so are the LEGO sets! First up, jump onboard the Hogwarts Express (75955) (if you can get through the brick wall to Platform 9¾™). Enjoy the sweets from the Trolley Witch, but if the Dementor™ asks for a kiss, say no.

We also released a Hogwarts Express set back when the franchise first began. Slide to see it in comparison!

“Babbling, bumbling band of baboons”

Onto Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™! One of our favorite scenes is the Yule Ball, which you can re-enact via the new Hogwarts Clock Tower (75948).

There’s Dumbledore’s office, a Defense Against the Dark Arts class and a cool dance floor to pair up the characters for an awkward school dance shuffle. Ah, memories…

Let’s peek back to the old sets to an early version of Dumbledore’s office (4729) – a central location for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix™ – back to when LEGO minifigures were only available in yellow, before we started producing natural skin tones.

“MERLIN’S BEARD”

Two words for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™: totes emosh. Major drama happens in Attack on the Burrow (75980), where you can build the teetering Weasley house… before it’s set on fire by the Death Eaters, Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenir Greyback.

So without giving spoilers (but it HAS been 20 years!), Voldemort gets pretty powerful by the last films. As a homage to his notoriety, recreate him alongside his two faithful servants, Nagini and Bellatrix Lestrange as LEGO® BrickHeadz™ figures (40496). Actually here, You-Know-Who looks less horrifying in a way…

“BLOW IT UP? BOOM?”

If you want to play out the absolute pinnacle of explosive drama of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2™, you could use the Hogwarts Castle (71043) in its incredible microscale detail. Though it’s unlikely you’ll want to dismantle this epic set after you’ve spent so many enjoyable hours building it…

Finally, to the beautiful LEGO Hogwarts Icons – Collector’s Edition set, so you can display your fandom for the Wizarding World with pride!

Happy 20th, LEGO Harry Potter!