After weeks of speculation, Warner Bros. Discovery has officially announced the first cast members who will appear in its upcoming Harry Potter TV adaptation. The casting confirmations, focused around some of the most notably adult characters from the Harry Potter novels, are one of the most reassuring signs of life for the wizarding world series since it was first announced two years ago.
Hogwarts’ headmaster Albus Dumbledore will be portrayed by six-time Emmy award winner John Lithgow (The Crown, Conclave), joined by Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror) as Severus Snape, Janet McTeer (The Menu, Kaos) as Minerva McGonagall, and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) as Rubeus Hagrid. WB says that all four actors will serve as series regulars, alongside guest appearances by Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
These castings won’t come as a surprise to some fans — rumors about the main four actor’s involvement in the series have been circulating around on social media for weeks, with Lithgow confirming he’s lined up to play Dumbledore to Deadline in February. Younger characters, including castings for the Harry, Ron, and Hermione main trio, have yet to be announced following Warner Bros. launching an open casting call last fall.
“We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life,” said showrunners Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials) and Mark Mylod (Succession). The ambitious Harry Potter series is expected to run for more than a decade on both HBO and MAX, with Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav saying last year that it should debut sometime in 2026.
The TV adaptation “will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series,” according to Warner Bros, with author J.K. Rowling serving as the executive producer. The entertainment giant has enthusiastically pushed projects around the Harry Potter franchise — including the 2023 Hogwarts Legacy video game — with little acknowledgment of Rowling’s increasingly controversial behavior online. The author has become so synonymous with promoting transphobic rhetoric on X that even the like-minded Elon Musk has asked her to occasionally talk about something else on the platform.
