HBO’s Harry Potter series still hasn’t cast all the characters it’ll need to adapt every book, and with the new version of the saga slated to premiere in 2027, the show’s casting department needs to get moving. While many of the core characters from JK Rowling’s seven Harry Potter novels have been cast, replacing their predecessors from the movies, there are still several key figures who haven’t been assigned a new actor. At the very least, the actors filling those roles haven’t been announced.
The franchise’s golden trio of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are expected to lead the upcoming ensemble cast, with the new versions of the characters portrayed by Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton, respectively. With Harry Potter Season 1 set to adapt the events of 1997’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, HBO probably has everyone it needs at the moment. However, as each new season adapts another of Rowling’s books, more actors will need to be brought aboard to fill key roles.
Lord Voldemort
Harry Potter‘s overarching villain does have a major role in the first book, even if he only rears his (shared) head right near the end. Still, there’s been no announcement concerning who will be playing the character in Season 1. In the first movie, the character was portrayed by Richard Bremmer, and would go on to be played by Christian Colson in the second, but as a memory of Tom Riddle. Ralph Fiennes wouldn’t step in as Voldemort until the fourth Harry Potter movie in the series, 2005’s The Goblet of Fire, and he became synonymous with the role. HBO may follow a similar casting pattern, although there’s no real reason why the same actor can’t play Voldemort in Seasons 1 and 4.
The Sorting Hat
The enchanted piece of headwear is arguably a minor Harry Potter character in the grand scheme of things, but its importance to the story at large cannot be denied. The Sorting Hat is responsible for placing all Hogwarts students into one of four houses that best suit their personalities and motivations. On a different day, Harry may have ended up in Slytherin rather than Gryffindor, and that would have resulted in a very different version of events. The hat was originally voiced by Leslie Philips, who passed away at the age of 98 in 2022. With Harry Potter Season 1 currently in active production, it’s tough to believe the Sorting Hat hasn’t been cast, but no official announcement has been made.
Lily & James Potter
Harry’s late parents pretty much always come as a pair when they feature in the fantasy saga, so it wouldn’t make sense to give them anything but a joint entry. Played in the movies by Adrian Rawlins and Geraldine Somerville, James and Lily never directly appeared in any of the Harry Potter movies. Instead, they were only shown via flashbacks and appeared via various fantastical means that recalled an echo of them to reality, as in the reflection of the Mirror of Erised. HBO may choose to use the characters differently, but it would be a risky move if so. Either way, there’s no news about who will play them in the upcoming show.
Any of the Hogwarts Ghosts
Again, it makes sense to condense this category of character into a single entry. The Hogwarts ghosts are primarily responsible for JK’s Rowling’s extensive worldbuilding efforts, but that doesn’t mean they can be omitted from the Harry Potter show. The Wizarding World would be far poorer without them. John Cleese’s Nearly Headless Nick is the most prominent ghost in the movies, but even he has a pretty small role to play. Along with the other three Hogwarts house ghosts, HBO finally has the opportunity to bring Peeves into the live-action world for the first time. While British comedy legend Rick Mayall did shoot scenes as Peeves for the movies, the character was ultimately cut.
Bill Weasley
As the oldest of all the Weasley children, Bill isn’t even at Hogwarts anymore in the first book, having already graduated. Even when he appears later in the saga, he never has a particularly prominent role to play. That said, with HBO insisting that their series will be as faithful as possible to the source material, a new actor needs to be found to take over from Domhnall Gleeson. The show’s casting department probably has more time to find a new Bill Weasley when compared to some of the other Wizarding World characters, given that he isn’t expected to debut for a few years yet.
Gilderoy Lockhart
Professor Lockhart doesn’t appear until The Chamber of Secrets, stepping in as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Although he isn’t expected to feature in Harry Potter Season 1, the writers have already started on the scripts for Season 2, which is where the new version of Lockhart should enter the story. Still, there’s been no announcement on the subject of who will inherit the role from Kenneth Branagh. Whenever a new actor is chosen, Harry Potter fans may be given the chance to witness a previously unadapted scene from the Order of the Phoenix book, which Branagh’s version of Lockhart never returned for.
Sirius Black
As the man who quickly jumps from perceived villain to a new father figure for Harry, Gary Oldman’s Sirius Black has one of the most memorable arcs in the movies, which faithfully adapts the storyline from the books. The HBO series will struggle to address Sirius’ journey more accurately than the movies already did, and it’ll be equally difficult to find someone who can outshine Oldman in the role. Still, it’s a challenge that must be accomplished. Widely regarded as the best book and movie in the series, The Prisoner of Azkaban will also force Harry Potter Season 3 to find suitable replacements for Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew and David Thewlis as Remus Lupin.
- Showrunner
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Francisca Gardiner
- Directors
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Mark Mylod
- Writers
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Francesca Gardiner
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
