For the new Harry Potter HBO series, upwards of 32,000 kids have auditioned for the roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, and the selection process was a monumental task. Deadline has now unveiled the new child actors who will portray the students at Hogwarts. Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout have been cast in the three lead roles that have previously been filled by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in the movie franchise.
Showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod have made the statement, “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. 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.”
Much of the grown-up roles have been cast, including John Lithgow as Dumbledore and Nick Frost as Hagrid. Lithgow and Frost are reportedly joined by Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, along with the two newly announced actors — Luke Thallon, who is to play Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse, who will be portraying Argus Filch. Whitehouse is the only actor cast in the show who has also appeared in the original Harry Potter films. He also portrayed Sir Cadogan in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
The synopsis for the show says, “The franchise follows the life of a young wizard, the titular Harry Potter, whose parents died under mysterious circumstances when he was very young. He was forced to live a life of misery and servitude to his aunt and uncle and their awful son before he was freed from his gilded cage when Hagrid extended an invitation that changed his life forever. The adventure begins as Harry and his magical friends Ron and Hermoine become students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who come of age in a time of extreme turmoil where the threat of war looms close.”
Succession‘s Francesca Gardiner will serve as a writer and showrunner on the series, while Mark Mylod signed on to executive produce and direct multiple episodes. The project was originally developed for Max (now HBO Max) but made the leap to HBO former last summer.
Each season of the Harry Potter TV series is said to cover one of J.K. Rowling’s novels, for a total of seven seasons. While the movies were able to fit quite a lot in, there were plenty of moments cut from the novels that the TV series will finally be able to bring to life. Last year, the studio released a statement saying, “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.” Production is expected to kick off this summer.
