…..
Inside Hall H, the lights dimmed slightly, drawing attention to the stage. A massive black banner hung behind the curtain, its text barely visible in the shadowed glow:
"LIE STUDIO PRESENTS..."
— The Future of Magic —
Near the stage entrance, two Comic-Con staffers stood watching the crowd.
"Dude." One whispered. "People started lining up before sunrise."
The other nodded, eyes wide. "Yeah… but honestly, aren't they kinda too wild?"
It was true. The energy was unusually intense - even by Comic-Con standards. But anyone paying attention knew why.
It wasn't just the book.
Sure, the book was good. Great, even. But fans wouldn't show up like this for just a decent story - not unless it came from someone who made them believe in what was possible.
Someone whose name alone stirred curiosity.
And that someone… was Regal.
Still, the story had to stand on its own.
Readers didn't spend money and travel just because of who wrote it. They came because the book had earned its place - because it sparked something real.
So yeah - of course the people who showed up were excited. That much was expected.
If anything, it felt long overdue.
And you could feel it in the air.
The murmurs, the shifting in seats, the kind of restless vibe that had its own rhythm. Not noise - just anticipation made audible.
"I swear Jess…" someone whispered a few rows in, "if they show even ten seconds of footage, I am gonna lose it."
Next to her, her friend gave her a look. "Remind me again why you dragged me here?"
The women leaned forward, eyes narrowing at the stage. "Look… Regal's out."
"Where?! I don't see—" Her head whipped around, scanning the platform. "Wait, I still can't see him."
"Uh-huh. And I am the one who dragged you, right?" She shot back with a grin.
Her friend just rolled her eyes and gave her a playful punch on the shoulder.
A few seats down, a guy in a worn Gryffindor hoodie leaned toward his partner.
"Honestly, I still can't believe they're not showing the cast yet."
"I feel like they are dragging it on purpose." The partner replied.
Behind them, a kid no older than nine bounced a little in his seat.
"Do you think he's gonna have an owl?" he asked his dad, eyes wide.
"Maybe…" The dad chuckled, brushing popcorn salt from his fingers.
Up ahead, someone muttered into the space around them. "Watch it just be the logo. Bet they don't even show a proper teaser."
Another voice chimed in, dry and amused. "I would sit through a PowerPoint at this point."
A few people laughed - short, quiet chuckles shared like a secret handshake. It didn't break the mood. If anything, it made the wait feel even more real.
Phones were out, but no one was watching them anymore. A few last-minute selfies, a couple of messages being sent, but for the most part, the screens were forgotten.
No one wanted to be the person who missed the moment because they were looking the wrong way.
Eyes kept drifting back to the curtain, the faint text glowing behind it.
Then a slight flicker from the side lights. A subtle change in tone.
Conversation dipped into near silence.
And just like that, the room inhaled together - waiting.
Then the lights dipped lower, the ambient glow fading into darkness.
The logo behind the curtain slowly dissolved, replaced by a new line, flickering to life like ink spreading across old parchment:
"[LIVE PANEL – FIRST EVER FANTASY UNIVERSE ANNOUNCEMENT]"
A second passed. Then another.
A single spotlight snapped on, casting a soft pool of light onto the stage.
And then, from the side wing, Regal stepped out.
Black shirt.
Simple blazer.
No tie. The card in his hand was already creased at the edges.
He looked like someone who had been up late writing.
But the room didn't care. They knew who he was.
He was the guy who gave them [Following], [Death Note], and most recently, [The Hangover] - a comedy still dominating box offices weeks after release.
The crowd didn't erupt - they rose. A deep, full-body roar rolled forward from the front row all the way to the back of Hall H.
Not shrill or wild. Just honest. Earned.
Regal smiled, waited a beat, then raised the mic.
"Wow." He said, eyes scanning the rows. "Okay. That's... yeah, that's a lot."
He let the crowd breathe for a second, then continued, voice steady but warm.
"I appreciate all of you being here. Especially those of you who camped out since yesterday - some of you in full robes, in July. Brave souls."
Laughter moved through the room, light and easy. A few scattered cheers. Someone in the back let out an exaggerated whistle, and the flicker of phone screens glowed softly in the dark as streams picked up and messages poured in.
Near the front, a guy in his twenties leaned forward, not yelling, just loud enough to be heard:
"I re-read the book twice after the announcement!"
A small ripple of amusement spread nearby - part impressed, part playful teasing.
Regal smiled, just a little, and leaned into the mic.
"Man… you read it twice?" He let the words hang a beat. "That's two more times than I have slept this week."
The crowd chuckled again, a warmer kind of laughter - familiar, appreciative.
Someone else, maybe a few rows back, shouted more casually this time.
"I really love your books, dude."
Regal looked up, caught that, and nodded. "Thanks. I was hoping at least one person would say that out loud today."
Laughter again. The room was loosening up. The kind of laughter that said we're with you.
He adjusted the mic slightly, rolled his shoulders back, and took a moment.
"Alright. So, before we go further - just to get this out of the way - I know some of you are probably wondering about the cast. And, no… we haven't started yet. So no reveals. Not tonight."
A low 'aww' passed through the audience, not disappointed, just eager.
"But." He continued. "We are doing something a little crazy today."
That got a small wave of 'ooohs' and murmurs.
Regal tilted his head, almost as if warning them.
"And just a heads-up… I am still not great at speeches. So, please lower your expectations accordingly. But I do appreciate that you have all been way nicer than my high school debate judges already."
That got a real laugh. Comfortable, easy. A voice from the crowd called out:
"You are doing great!"
Regal smiled at that, almost like he didn't expect it.
"Alright." He said, letting a little seriousness return to his tone. "You are here because of something that has been whispered about… maybe leaked… definitely speculated."
A pause. He looked out, scanned the sea of faces - some leaning forward, some frozen mid-blink, hands half-raised with phones, all waiting.
"And tonight, I am here to confirm it."
He took a breath.
Then he dropped on a sentence like a stone into water:
"[Harry Potter] is real."
For a half-second, the silence held like a coiled spring—
"WOOOOOO!!!"
And then the room erupted.
Applause, cheers, voices rising all at once, not wild, but powerful - a wave of sound, emotional, disbelief crashing into joy. Some stood up. Some just froze. One girl near the center covered her mouth with both hands.
Regal stood quietly, letting it wash over him.
Then, when it began to settle—
He nodded once.
"And it's not just a movie." He said. "It's the beginning of something much, much bigger."
"I wrote the book last fall. Published it through Everleaf. Some of you probably already know that…" He added with a small grin. "And yes - I will be directing the films."
"Now let's welcome a special someone."
The lights shifted slightly - then a spotlight cut to the side of the stage.
From the wings, Gwendolyn walked out.
Power suit, elegant heels, subtle smile.
Not as Regal's girlfriend here - but the woman who greenlit [Harry Potter] when no one else would.
They met in the center. A quick hug.
"This wouldn't be here without Everleaf." He said simply. "And it wouldn't be here without her. Even when it was just a mess of notes and long rants in the middle of the night - she saw something in it."
He glanced her way. "So… yeah. Thanks, Gwen."
Gwendolyn gave a small wave.
The crowd responded with warm applause - nothing overblown, just that honest kind of cheer people gave when they got it.
She exited just as quickly, fading back into the wings. Regal stepped forward again, both hands on the mic now.
He took a moment.
Then. "Okay. Deep breath."
After a little pause and with a faint smile. "Today, you will be the first people in the world to see what we are building.
Audience shouted after hearing that…
"YES!"
"BRING IT ON!"
"SHOW US MAGIC!"
He steps back, voice quieter now. "What you are about to see… isn't a trailer. It's not even a teaser… also head's up this isn't about Harry either. It's about everything before him. The moving staircases. The ghosts. The portraits. The rules. The heart. The magic."
"So It's called… actually I don't know what to refer to as… just please see for yourself and decide."
Then behind him a countdown appeared, bold and slow-
10…
9…
8…
Somewhere in the back, a chant started. Just a few voices at first - low, steady.
"Pot-ter… Pot-ter…"
More joined in.
"Pot-ter… Pot-ter…"
The sound grew louder, but still carried that almost reverent edge.
Regal breathes in once - then out.
He turns to the screen as the title fades in with his voiceover from behind.
"This is…"
"[THE WORLD BEFORE THE BOY]"
The lights go black.
TEASER BEGINS (ALL CGI)
Dark clouds churn. Wind moans through twisted moors. A flash of a stone castle in the distance - not Hogwarts, but ancient, wilder, untouched.
The screen cuts to black.
Then, slowly, the words appear:
"THE WIZARDING WORLD BEGINS HERE."
The lights in Hall H dim without warning.
A hush sweeps the room - not suddenly - but as if the air itself begins to shift, gently nudging the crowd into silence. The roaring energy of the panel only moments ago folds into a hushed reverence.
Phones stop recording, mouths are shut, and no one wants to blink.
On the giant screen, bathed in faint gold, a simple serif font types itself in:
"Before the boy with the scar…"
It lingers for a moment.
"…there was a world already beating with magic."
The letters drift away like smoke, and for one still moment, nothing fills the air but the sharp anticipation of 800 hearts all beating at once.
Music begins - slow, orchestral, not from any existing film. It's elegant, but carries a childlike wonder underneath, like a lullaby composed inside a castle.
Suddenly, the black screen is torn open by a shimmer of golden mist, revealing a sweeping view of the Scottish Highlands.
But it's not reality as we know it - not quite. The cliffs stretch longer, the lakes shine deeper, and shadows bend in impossible directions.
From above, a golden phoenix bursts into frame, its wings leaving behind trails of stardust that hang in the air like calligraphy written by fire.
The narrator's voice, calm and curious, begins to speak.
"There are places hidden from the eyes of the ordinary..."
The screen cuts - and we dive without warning into a winding, cobblestone street bathed in the flickering light of crooked lanterns.
Diagon Alley.
It's alive with magic, but never announces itself.
A man levitates his groceries into his coat.
A sidewalk chess game argues with itself over strategy.
A witch's hat floats off her head and smacks a goblin, who growls and adjusts his monocle.
The street curves in ways it shouldn't, bending left and up at once. In a store window, books flap and rattle their cages like excited birds.
"...where rules bend, and magic breathes... and chooses whom it trusts."
The narration slips away just as the visual pulls us through a wide, rippling reflection - and into the vast stone corridors of a castle perched somewhere just beyond reality.
Hogwarts.
But not as a single, static shot.
The camera drifts through its great halls and moving staircases, each corner revealing something alive.
Candles float serenely over the Great Hall, which resets itself in real time.
Plates vanish and reappear polished. Banners shift their colors as if responding to unseen debates.
A classroom fills with enchanted chalkwork - formulas and runes scrawled onto the blackboard by invisible hands - until a ghost professor appears mid-air and crosses it all out.
Below, the camera dives through the floor to reveal the Hufflepuff common room, round and golden and lined with enchanted plants leaning toward the earth's warmth.
A small badger statue nods approvingly at the camera.
Then up - fast - through a moving staircase, where paintings shout and gesture wildly.
"He is two steps behind where I left him!"
"You are looking at Tuesday again, Bertram!"
One more turn and the camera lands before a massive, enchanted wooden door carved with four creatures -
A Lion.
A Snake.
A Badger.
And an Eagle.
"Four houses. Four ideals. One legacy."
The door swings open, not with force but reverence - and we enter the Room of Requirement.
Here the visuals go full spectacle. The room shifts on camera - a library turning into a dueling arena, then a sanctuary, then a dark star-studded void.
Each form pulses with personality, making people in the hall gasp.
How is this CGI? You can almost hear them think.
The transformation is seamless, dreamlike - the kind of visual worldbuilding only seen in concept art, now brought to life.
"But even the oldest magic forgets its beginnings..."
The music softens.
"...until a boy reminds it to hope again."
We plunge suddenly into the Black Lake, cutting through veils of kelp and glittering specks of life. Luminescent fish dart past. Shadows drift above. At the deepest point, half-buried in stone, a single wand glows softly.
And then — darkness.
The screen fades to black.
Silence again.
Then text appears followed by a crisp and steady audio:
"[HARRY POTTER]"
"[Let the cinematic magical saga begin]"
"[Expelliarmus]!!"
- the came sharp blinding light as if a real spell was cast, followed by another text -
"[HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE]"
"[RELEASING ON SUMMER 2013]"
And then –
"....."
Long silence.
Alas it didn't stay long -
"HOOOO!!!!!!!!"
"HELL YEEHHHH!"
"THAT'S SOOOO COOL"
CLAP–!! CLAP–!! CLAP–!!
Once they realised it was finished, the clapping filled the hall as people stood in ovation from their seats still amazed from what they had witnessed.
The crowd is already starting to murmur, but the screen gives them one more hit:
"[From the writer and director of [Death Note] and [The Hangover]]"
"[A LIE Studio and Everleaf Release]"
And with that - the lights come back up.
….
Unanimously accepted, the clip was played a couple more times, and the technical team also launched the trailer in MeTube, and other official social media handles to the public.
The second and the third time also received similar responses, however this time there is no hush silence as the audience actively discusses whenever something they read in the book appears on the screen.
Still this time knowing what's coming, the scream and cheers only intensified.
Backstage, Regal stood with a water bottle in one hand and a slightly crumpled note card in the other. He wasn't beaming or throwing fist bumps.
Just standing - still, and trying to soak it in.
He clearly remembers.
[Harry Potter].
He always yearned for it, and finally getting it - it definitely moved something within him.
Gwendolwyn, noticing his emotions, simply stepped up beside him. She didn't speak for a moment.
Then she nudged him with her elbow.
"You realize what just happened out there?"
Regal said, confused. "People clapped?"
She added. "...nope junior, wrong answer minus 10 points - they believed in your work."
.
….
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
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