HBO has confirmed most of the cast of its new Harry Potter adaptation, and it includes some big names. Find all of them below.
Updated 27th May to include Harry, Ron and Hermione casting.
HBO has been working on and planning its new Harry Potter series adaptation for a while now and confirmed details have been scarce. The project is due to start filming this summer in the UK and rumours of the casting have been running wild on the internet.
John Lithgow’s name has been thrown around a lot for Professor Dumbledore and Paapa Essiedu was rumoured to have snatched the coveted part of Severus Snape, but HBO has kept quiet on official announcements. Until now.
The studio has officially announced the cast playing Hogwarts staff. They are – deep breath – Lithgow as Dumbledore, Essiedu as Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
The actors have some big shoes to fill, but HBO’s announcement promises that the films, which starred Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint as Harry, Hermione and Ron respectively, will remain “at the core of the franchise”.
As for Harry, Hermione and Ron, they’ve since been confirmed to be played by newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout, respectively.
HBO hasn’t officially clarified how the series will adapt JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books, but it seems safe to assume that each season will tackle one of the books. The first season of the new Harry Potter show should then adapt The Philosopher’s Stone in which Harry discovers his magical powers and gets into all kinds of trouble at Hogwarts.
Francesca Gardiner has been announced as the series’ showrunner and The Menu’s Mark Mylod will executive produce and serve as a director for multiple episodes.
Rowling is also on board as an executive producer. It feels a long time now since her name was cheered and chanted at the last Harry Potter premiere, but then she’s isolated a good chunk of a fanbase over time who felt that she understood and fought for people who felt they didn’t fit in. Nothing that’s harmed the popularity of Harry Potter, though, and she’ll be collecting another huge amount of cash to pay for her Twitter subscription from this.
