HBO may finally have zeroed in on its Albus Dumbledore.
According to reports in multiple US outlets, two-time Emmy winner John Lithgow is reportedly in final talks to play the Hogwarts headmaster in HBO‘s forthcoming Harry Potter series based on JK Rowling’s best-selling books about the Boy Who Lived.
Sources reportedly told Deadline about Lithgow’s negotiations, but HBO declined to comment.
“We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation,” the network said in a statement.
“As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise deals.”
The Independent has reached out to representatives for John Lithgow and HBO for comment.
Three actors played Dumbledore in the original run of Harry Potter films between 2001 and 2011. Richard Harris played the headmaster in the first two instalments, The Philosopher’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets.
His death in 2002 saw Michael Gambon take over the role for the remaining films.
In the film adaptations of the prequel franchise Fantastic Beasts, Jude Law played a younger version of Dumbledore in The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore.
The TV adaption, confirmed by HBO Max in 2023, aims to be a “faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer JK Rowling”. The series is expected to run for a decade, each season based on one of the seven books.
While casting calls for the three young leads – Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – opened in September 2024, HBO has been scouting for older actors over the past few months to play adult characters such as Dumbledore and the primary villain Voldemort.
In November 2024, reports said producers were angling for Oscar-winning star of stage and screen Mark Rylance for the role of Dumbledore. A couple of months earlier, Gary Oldman, who played Harry Potter’s godfather Sirius Black in the original film franchise, had said he would be up to playing Dumbledore.
In December, reports suggested I May Destroy You star Paapa Essiedu was the top choice to play Potions professor Severus Snape, played last by Alan Rickman in the film franchise. The same month, rumours suggested Ted Lasso actor Brett Goldstein was being tapped to star as gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid, who was originally played by Robbie Coltrane.
Nearly 32,000 children have sent audition tapes for the lead roles of Harry, Hermione, and Ron, but no casting announcements have been made yet.
The retelling of Rowling’s novels will start shooting this summer in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, where the original films were shot, and the series will debut in late 2026 or early 2027.
The announcement of the series and the casting speculation has been mixed, with The Independent’s Louis Chilton writing that “there have been signs for years that Harry Potter’s spell over the general public may be slowly wearing off”.
“The world certainly doesn’t need another Harry Potter adaptation. Whether it even wants one is still up for debate. One thing’s clear, though: those at Warner Bros should think twice before hedging their bets on another decade of Pottermania.”
Several actors from the original film franchise have distanced themselves from the forthcoming series, including Daniel Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter; Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom; and Jared Harris, son of Richard Harris, who questioned why the project was being made in the first instance.
