February 12th 2025.
The buzz around who will play Albus Dumbledore in the highly anticipated HBO Harry Potter series is reaching a boiling point. According to sources, John Lithgow is currently in the final stages of negotiations for the coveted role. If all goes according to plan, the six-time Emmy winner, who is 79 years young, will become the fourth actor to portray the wise old wizard, following in the footsteps of Michael Gambon who took over after the passing of Richard Harris. Jude Law also gave a brilliant performance as the younger version of Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts spin-off films.
While Lithgow would be the first non-Irish or British actor to take on the iconic role, he is no stranger to playing complex characters. In fact, his portrayal of Winston Churchill in The Crown earned him his most recent Emmy award. While Deadline has confirmed this exciting news, HBO has chosen to remain tight-lipped for now. In a statement to the US outlet, they acknowledged the high level of interest and speculation surrounding the series, but stated that they will only confirm details as deals are finalized during pre-production.
The upcoming HBO series, which will be filmed at the same Warner Bros. Studios in the UK where the original films were made, is set to release in late 2026 or 2027. Unlike the films, which may have skimmed over certain details from J.K. Rowling's books, this series is being marketed as a faithful adaptation of the beloved novels that were released between 1997 and 2007.
Aside from his potential new role as Dumbledore, Lithgow has been making headlines for his performance in the Oscar-nominated film, Conclave. He is also known for his roles in The Crown, The Old Man, Killers of the Flower Moon, Interstellar, Dexter, Shrek, Footloose, The World According to Garp, Cliffhanger, and Love is Strange.
After Harris' passing, Michael Gambon took over the role of Dumbledore in the films. The casting for the new series began in September with a focus on finding young actors from the UK and Ireland to play the roles of Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and their classmates. An impressive 32,000 children reportedly sent in audition tapes, and since the announcement, fans have been speculating about who will bring these beloved characters to life on screen.
Some of the rumored casting choices include Paapa Essiedu as Snape, Sharon Horgan as Professor Minerva McGonnagall, and Brett Goldstein as Rubeus Hagrid. Others have suggested that Cillian Murphy would make a convincing Voldemort, a role that was famously portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in all eight films.
The news of the series comes at a time when author J.K. Rowling has faced controversy and accusations of transphobia. However, she has strongly denied these claims. With all the excitement and anticipation surrounding the new series, it's clear that fans are still eager to dive back into the magical world of Harry Potter.
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