After months of speculation and tens of thousands of auditions, HBO has officially named the three new leads for its Harry Potter reboot series.
This news comes after a long casting process. HBO reportedly saw over 30,000 children audition for the iconic trio, but today, fans finally got to see the three chosen actors.
HBO has officially announced that Dominic McLaughlin will play “the Boy Who Lived,” Harry Potter, while Alastair Stout steps into Ron Weasley’s shoes. Arabella Stanton, who recently led the West End production of Matilda, will portray Hermione Granger. Click here to see the new trio.
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The announcement follows a previous wave of casting news that included some big names in supporting but equally iconic roles. Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror) will portray Severus Snape, and John Lithgow (Dexter) has been cast as Albus Dumbledore.
Other confirmed actors are Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds) as Minerva McGonagall, Luke Thallon (Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt) as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse (Harry & Paul) as Argus Filch.
Francesca Gardiner (HBO’s Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve) serves as showrunner. Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) is on board as a key director and executive producer. The pair said in a 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.”
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is also onboard as an executive producer.
With an exciting new generation of actors and a creative team equally stacked with talent, the new Harry Potter series is one of the platform’s most ambitious projects ever. But whether it will live up to the original films or carve out its own legacy remains to be seen.
Filming is scheduled to begin this summer.
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