After an extensive search, the actors set to play the new leads of theHarry PotterTV series have been found.
Theopen casting callfor British children ages 9 to 11 led HBO to the three leads of its multi-season television series: newcomers Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger.
“After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione and Ron,” Francesca Gardiner, the showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod, the executive producer and director, said in a statement. “The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
The three child actors round out the world first imagined byJK Rowlingin her smash seven-book series and played by a who’s who of British actors across eight feature films released between 2001 and 2011.
Last month, HBOconfirmed, after much speculation, that John Lithgow would play Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry originally played by Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, in the series designed to run for over a decade, with at least one season per book.
Other confirmed cast include series regularsPaapa Essieduas Severus Snape, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, as well as Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell andPaul Whitehouseas Argus Filch.
“We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life,” Gardiner and Mylod said at the time.
The series will be a “faithful adaptation” of the books by Rowling, “full of the fantastic detail, much-loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years”, according to Max, the streaming service for HBO soon to be renamed HBO Max, in a statement upon theseries announcementin April 2023.
“Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.”
Rowling, who maintains ownership over key aspects of Harry Potter intellectual property, including the characters, will serve as an executive producer on the series. Her involvement has drawn controversy from some fans of the franchise for her numerous anti-trans statements, whichled to a riftwith the original films’ three stars. In March, Rowlingappeared to take a swipeat Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint on social media, five years after the actors publicly rebuked anessayin which she called arguments about “femaleness not residing in the sexed body … deeply misogynistic and regressive”.
The 59-year-old author’s expansive Harry Potter world – including the books, films, video games and theater – isworth an estimated £20bn($25bn).
The HBO series isexpected to debutin 2026, almost 30 years after the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), was published in 1997, and 15 years after the final film, The Deathly Hallows Part 2, hit theaters.