Hogwarts Legacy Trailer Hid A Harry Potter Diagon Alley Secret
Hogwarts Legacy's reveal trailer seemingly showed a Harry Potter Diagon Alley secret that was originally illustrated but never featured in the films.
In the Hogwarts Legacy trailer, a Harry Potter Diagon Alley secret is hiding in plain sight, originally illustrated by J.K. Rowling. Hogwarts Legacy's PC release platforms don't yet seem finalized, but there's plenty of information coming out about the title, and Avalanche Software could be using the original Rowling creation as inspiration for something new.
Since the initial release of the Hogwarts Legacy reveal trailer on September 16, 2020, the footage has undergone in-depth analysis and breakdown. One part, in particular, hasn't had as much talk in the mainstream as other parts through, mainly because it was only shown for three seconds. Past the halfway point of the trailer, a magical stone wall with bricks aligned in a circle is shown opening, but what's inside is unknown. Magical opening walls are a staple of the Harry Potter universe, but this one identically matches an original Rowling illustration and specific location. Hogwarts Legacy characters might break some magical rules, but this door seems to follow its original purpose.
As seen in the trailer, this magical stone wall with a circular opening matches Rowling's original Diagon Alley door behind the Leaky Cauldron. As noted by Gcleavs on a Reddit page, the door is identical to the author's original illustration, which isn't quite the same as the one seen in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone film (2001). While this piece of information isn't officially confirmed, it sure looks like there's a good chance that an authentic Diagon Alley could be in Hogwarts Legacy at launch - but even if not, this artistic detail shows how much inspiration the team may be taking from the franchise at large in making Hogwarts Legacy.
When writing Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling drew out many parts of the universe that she imagined it to look like. Avalanche Software has been up-front about keeping its game distinct, which is why Hogwarts Legacy house common rooms are different, but it also translates to many other areas in the game. User Alistair Sowerbutts reposted a 2001 Omnibus interview of Rowling on YouTube; in it, she shows an illustration of the famous Diagon Alley doorway, but it looks different than it did in the movies because she couldn't find it before the scene was filmed. Nevertheless, Hogwarts Legacy looks like it's using inspiration from her original drawing of the Diagon Alley door for the game.
Some in the community thought Diagon Alley wasn't getting added to Hogwarts Legacy because there was no overt indication from the gameplay released so far. While that's still a possibility, and there's no way to completely confirm this small three-second segment in the trailer, it's definitely a possibility considering the almost identical similarities. As the 2022 holiday release gets closer, more details about the game will be revealed, like Harry Potter spells in Hogwarts Legacy and the Diagon Alley question.
Source: Gcleavs/Reddit, YouTube/Alistair Sowerbutts/YouTube