First cast members for Harry Potter TV series finally announced
The Hogwarts Express is closer to leaving platform 9¾ and chugging onto our screens with more cast members revealed for the upcoming live-action TV series.
Following months of speculation, HBO announced overnight that John Lithgow will play Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer will take on Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu has been cast as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost will play Rubeus Hagrid.
New Potter, new faces: (top, L–R) John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, (bottom, L–R) Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, Paul Whitehouse.Credit: Jessica Howes, Andrew Crowley, Ruth Crafer, Lee Malone, Phil Sharp, Mike Marsland
All will be regulars in the series, with newly announced guest/recurring cast including Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
Lithgow had revealed his own casting earlier this year.
“It was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid,” Lithgow told Screen Rant magazine in February. “But I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter ... I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”
The big question of who will take on the main three characters - Harry, Hermione and Ron - has not yet been answered. Newcomers are likely to become the Hogwarts heroes: a casting call was held in September last year for British and Irish children aged 9–11.
Variety has reported Oppenheimer and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy is slated to play Voldemort, but that is not confirmed.
The series will be a faithful adaptation of the blockbuster Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, who will also executive produce for HBO in association with Bronte Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. Each of the books will be adapted into a season of television.
Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in a scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Credit: Village Roadshow
“We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life,” said Francesca Gardiner, showrunner and executive producer and Mark Mylod, director of multiple episodes and executive producer. Other executive producers include Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.
With the first released in 1997, Harry Potter books have sold over 600 million copies worldwide. The much-anticipated HBO series is expected to bring a new generation to the stories of the wondrous boy wizard and his escapades. It will stream exclusively on Max.
According to Warner, the original eight films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch around the world. Daniel Radcliffe starred as Harry Potter in all the films, and as Lithgow foreshadowed, will be forever linked to the role.
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