'Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places’ is the prophetic new tagline for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which has just revealed a sensational new look across its marketing artwork and venues around the world.

Within the new design, and beautifully displayed in 3D outside the theatre buildings in New York, London and Melbourne, we see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child celebrating its place as the eighth story in the canon by incorporating J.K. Rowling’s name and the iconic lightning-bolt Harry Potter logo. The logo was originally designed by legendary Harry Potter illustrator Mary GrandPré over 23 years ago, and has continued to be used across books, films and many official Harry Potter projects all over the world since.

In this new creative approach, we can see an adult Harry ‘casting’ a magnificent lightning bolt (of course a reference to Harry’s famous scar). But if you look a little closer, you’ll see the looming threat of a Dark Mark, the sign of Lord Voldemort and his followers, dwelling in the spell’s glow. Could this ominous symbol from the wizarding world signify how the impact of Lord Voldemort still haunts Harry as a grown-up?

The tagline – ‘Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places’ – was written by J.K. Rowling herself for the original play description and lends further intrigue to the image.

The new designs draw subtle allusions to the show’s story, which focuses on Harry and many of our most beloved characters as well as a new generation of characters in a magical experience on stage.

The sensational new show designs took over Times Square in New York on Thursday night, with the play’s darker themes quite literally consuming the Manhattan intersection. Passers-by were surprised to find the famous big screens lit up by a countdown, before being engulfed in darkness and Dementors, culminating in another, far more conspicuous Dark Mark. It announced to the world that Harry Potter’s fight continues...

The Times Square takeover marks a new chapter for Cursed Child, which debuted in London in 2016 and has since opened in other locations around the world faster than you can say ‘Accio!’. The eighth official Harry Potter story, which J.K. Rowling wrote with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, continues to thrill audiences with its amazing stage craft and storytelling, opening subsequent productions in New York (where it picked up six Tony Awards) and Melbourne, with more on the way.

The new poster and logo celebrates the enduring excitement that Cursed Child continues to deliver to audiences all around the world.

'We are very proud that J.K. Rowling chose to tell her eighth story on stage. Just as she created a generation of lifelong readers with the Harry Potter book series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is now doing the same for theatre, with over half of our audiences worldwide being first time theatre-goers of all ages,' said Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, producers of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. 'It is so exciting to watch audiences all over the world be transported "Back to Hogwarts" to revisit their beloved characters. There is nothing like the experience of being in a theatre with a community of others, seeing and experiencing in real-time as the magic unfolds live before your eyes. The Boy Who Lived, lives on, and the story continues on stage across the world because, as J.K. Rowling herself said: "Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."'

Indeed, much like a moving Hogwarts staircase, the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child productions continue to surprise fans worldwide, with the production soon opening in San Francisco, Toronto and Hamburg, with the latter being the first time the play opens in a non-English language.

If that wasn’t enough, an exciting new behind-the-scenes book, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey, detailing the long journey that brought Harry Potter to the stage will be published later this year. The story will bring fans fantastic insight into a production that brought J.K. Rowling together with some of the theatre world’s most distinguished practitioners to bring the magic of Harry Potter to life on stage.

As a special thank you to their loyal fans, Cursed Child are giving 934 (get it?) lucky people around the world the chance to watch the show as their guests. But you have to act fast. Go to harrypotteronstage.com now and select your chosen location. If you aren’t one of the lucky 934, don’t worry, as tickets are on sale for productions in London, New York, San Francisco, Melbourne and Hamburg – with more information on Toronto still to come.

Stay tuned to find out what more the show has to offer as time rolls on. And beware any Dark Marks that may cross your path...

To pre-order Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: The Journey - Behind the Scenes of the Award-Winning Stage Production please visit here if you're in the US and here if you're in the UK.