I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the 2020s are the era of reboots and revamps. So, naturally, it’s no surprise that Harry Potter, one of the biggest franchises of the modern age, is already copping a reboot as a television series. Now, after a considerable amount of hesitation, worry and chatter, the cast of the upcoming series has finally been announced.
The upcoming Harry Potter series was first announced by HBO Max in April 2023, revealing that each season of the show will focus on a different book from the series.
Yep, that means that we’ll be seeing new casting for beloved characters from the books and the films.
Who has been cast in the Harry Potter TV series so far?
The coveted role of Albus Dumbledore will be played by John Lithgow. Dumbledore has previously been portrayed by Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Jude Law and Toby Regbo.
Cat-loving Minerva McGonogall will be portrayed by Janet McTeer. You might recognise Janet from her work in Ozark, Kaos and the 2022 film The Menu.
Severus Snape will be played by Paapa Esseudu. Paapa has appeared in series such as I May Destroy You, The Lazarus Project and Gangs of London.
Beloved groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid will be played by Nick Frost. The Hot Fuzz actor has already shared a tribute on Instagram to the late Robbie Coltrane who played the OG Hagrid.
“Thank you for trusting me with such a loyal, gentle and courageous half-giant like Rubeus Hagrid,” he wrote.
“Robbie, I promise I won’t let you down.”
The role of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher turned baddie, Quirinus Quirrell, will be played by Luke Thallon.
The grumpy yet iconic caretaker of Hogwarts, Argus Filch, will be portrayed by Paul Whitehouse.
Obviously, we’ve still got some big roles to be cast. Considering that the series will kick off with The Philosophers Stone, there’s the teeny-tiny matter of casting the three main roles: Harry, Hermione and Ron.
According to Variety, HBO sent out a huge casting call for the role which received more than 30,000 submissions from people eager to play the beloved characters.
The Harry Potter series is set to begin filming later this year.
Will any OG actors be returning to the series?
Although I’m sure many millennial hearts around the world would feel very full if unproblematic king Daniel Radcliffe appeared in a cameo in the upcoming series, he doesn’t sound too jazzed about the idea. Not because he’s not interested, but because he wants the new cast to make the roles their own.
“My understanding is that they’re trying to very much start fresh, and I’m sure whoever is making them will want to make their own mark on it and probably not want to have to figure out how to get old Harry to cameo in this somewhere,” Daniel explained to ComicBook.com.
“So I’m definitely not seeking it out in any way. But I do wish them, obviously, all the luck in the world and I’m very excited to have that torch passed. But I don’t think it needs me to physically pass it.”
Conversely, Tom Felton — who played Draco Malfoy in the films — is 100 per cent down to appear in the upcoming series. However, he’s been yapping about hypothetical cameos years before this series was even greenlit.
According to a 2019 chat with the Daily Mail (so, four years before HBO locked this upcoming series down), Tom said he’d love to play Draco’s dad Lucius Malfoy (played by The White Lotus king Jason Isaacs).
“I don’t think Jo [J.K. Rowling] would want her films, her books rather and her films, to be remade anytime soon, but I’m sure in 20 years when they’ve got 4D, scratch-and-sniff cinemas, or whatever, then they’ll want to do it all over again,” he said.
“My hope is that when they do it I’ll be old enough to play Lucius. Give it another 15 years and I’ll come back and play Lucius. I would do it in a heartbeat.”
You hear that? Someone call Tom!!!!!!!!!
Is J.K. Rowling involved in the new Harry Potter series?
Despite her very controversial (and low key hateful) opinions, J.K. Rowling is involved in the upcoming series. According to Variety, Rowling will be serving as an executive producer.
In case you missed it, Rowling identifies as a Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) and believes that trans people are a threat to women. Simply put, she’s incredibly transphobic.
When will the HBO Harry Potter series come out?
Currently, we don’t have a release date for the upcoming Harry Potter series. However, it is believed to be hitting streaming services in 2026.
Filming has been confirmed to begin soon in the summer of 2025 in Leavesden, England — the same location as the films.
