Harry Potter fans- what do we think of the HBO show casting so far?

[AngeloMysterioso]

John Lithgow self-confirmed as Dumbledore;
Paapa Essiedu very heavily rumoured as Snape;
Janet McTeer apparently "in talks" to play McGonagall;
Phoebe Waller-Bridge rumoured as Petunia Dursley.

(Admittedly most of these are still conjecture).

For my part... I'm not sure about most of them. John Lithgow is a fantastic actor and did a brilliant job with Churchill, but he's nearly 80... I know Dumbledore's meant to be 100-and-something but as a character he's still very virile and powerful, and I'm not sure he'll be able to do that justice.

Paapa Essiedu as Snape. I thought he was great in Gangs of London, does a really good job with a quietly calculating, slightly sinister character with plenty of gravitas. But he's rather gorgeous, and Snape is not meant to be at all attractive. And, let's not beat around the bush... he's black. I'm not at all against colourblind casting where appropriate (Bridgerton, fantastic- black Anne Boleyn, half-Chinese Bess of Hardwick, not so much). I don't know how it will be possible to show the backstory of James, Sirius, Remus and Peter loathing and bullying Snape without it coming across as being in any way racially motivated, plus the optics of black person=villain isn't great (yes I know he is redeemed right at the very very end). If I were to give him a role, I'd have cast him as Remus. Still the same strong, serious, don't-mess-with-me vibe but without the menace and evil.

Janet McTeer as McGonagall- no problems there. She's excellent in everything I've seen her in, it'll be hard for anyone to fill Maggie Smith's shoes but hopefully she'll be up to the task.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Petunia... I wasn't sure at first but I'm hoping she'll be able to bring her comedy chops to the table and make the character funny as well as intensely unlikeable. I'm trying to imagine who could play Vernon opposite her though?

Interested to hear other people's thoughts about the cast so far and who they'd like to have in what roles if it's possible?

I think I'd give Tonks to Daisy Edgar-Jones, Voldemort to Benedict Cumberbatch, Lockhart to Glen Powell (is there scope to make that character American? I think so), Perhaps Kit Harington as Sirius and I think Natalie Dormer could absolutely go to town with Trelawney.

What do we think?

Very good idea

I liked someone’s suggestion up thread for Cillian Murphy as Voldemort and Jodie Comer as Bellatrix.

I just can’t see this series working though, and I’m not a huge fan of this new tv/film obsession with remakes. I’d much rather they made a series picking up from the platform scene with grown up Harry, what are their lives like now as adults?

I think Sarah Lancashire could be a great Dolores Umbridge.

😂

I think it will be filmed In quick succession to tie in with John lithgow and his age .

I can't abide PWB she isn't quick or witty or even that good an actress she just got lucky because she did a show about a randy posh woman and the beeb thought they were being edgy !
I mean I doubt she cares what I think but if she's in it I won't watch it.

I think Hugh Laurie would make an excellent Dumbledore. The piercing blue eyes, the warmth-yet-cold - he'd be able to pull it off. And he's 65, which would be an ideal age.

Snape cannot be black. It doesn't work with the description (neither did Alan Rickman - I adored the man but he was not the right Snape for me). I have no idea who could replace him, though.

Judi Dench would make a great McGonagall, but I'm not sure she'd ever step in Maggie Smith's footsteps - they were quite close.

Natalie Dormer would make a great Tonks, given how young she still looks.

I could see Karen Gillan as Lily. And John Cleese as Fudge.

Judi Dench is too ancient

She is sadly and she's also almost blind she probably wouldn't manage.

And she's 90!

Oh I didn't know that about her. Sad.

Still sticking to the others, though. I'd also love to see Charles Dance involved, perhaps as Filch, even though he is nearly 80, too!

Just seen an article saying Nick Frost rumoured to be the new Hagrid.

Fleabag was absolutely brilliant, and one of those unusual shows where series 2 was even better than series 1.

It was a runaway success not because the BBC "thought they were being edgy" but because millions loved it. I found it really refreshing for loads of reasons, not because it was about a "randy posh woman".

She's a brilliant writer, not just an actress.

She's obviously not your cup of tea, fair enough, but she to suggest she lacks talent is entirely unfair.

I think there will be more than enough material with, say, ten hour-long episodes per novel! And the Fantastic Beasts spin-offs weren’t that successful, so I imagine no one’s looking beyond the core novels at this point.

I’m really tired of race swaps. Can we JUST have characters that resemble their originals PLEASE? It’s not hard or complicated. The rumoured casting looks nothing like Snape nor does he inspire that image in my mind. Surely there’s other characters from the book that are black they could have used?

Paapa Essiedu is completely wrong for Snape, for all the reasons listed above. In a way, it seems such a lazy choice as he's been everywhere the past few years. No doubt some more of the 'usual suspects' will get parts - Indira Varma, Keeley Hawes, Monica Dolan etc.

I can't see PWB choosing to play Mrs Dursley, she's too busy with other projects and is too big a name for such a small part. Sian Clifford would be good.

Janet McTeer has been in talks to play McGonagall (great choice).

I'd like to see Lesley Manville as Madam Pomfrey, or Dorothy Atkinson.

Oh yes, Siân Clifford would be excellent!

I like the idea of John Lithgow as Dumbledore. He's a great actor and looking very with it and youthful for 80. You've got to love him for his Trumpty Dumpty book!
Paapa Essiedu I love, but not sure about him as Snape. He's too good looking and charismatic.

Andrew Scott would be a good Snape or Lucius Malfoy. I've just watched Ripley and he can look so evil and menacing.

Nick Frost as Hagrid sounds good. I agree about all the usual suspects, let’s have some new(ish) faces! I don’t see PE as Snape

They did a bit on the series on a recent The Rest is Entertainment episode. Not a long segment, but worth a listen.

The title is a bit click-baity, but the consensus is that no, it will not fail!

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-entertainment/id1718287198?i=1000700024156

PE officially cast as Snape (unfortunately):

https://deadline.com/2025/04/harry-potter-tv-series-john-lithgow-nick-frost-janet-mcteer-paapa-essiedu-1236367535/

Ooh! I’m psyched about Paapa Essiedu. And Nick Frost will be a great Hagrid.

It would be brilliant if they got Cillian.

I'm excited about all of those!!

I agree, I think he’d be a marvellous Lord Voldemort, and even Ralph Fiennes agrees according to a recent interview I read he did. But like PWB, I think he’s too A list to do this.

Loving Paul Whitehouse casting, he should make a properly revolting Filch.

All the people complaining that paapa Essiedu doesn’t look like snape from the books weren’t complaining when Alan rickman was cast at 30years older than the book character. Things change. And I’m glad they’ve at least cast someone in their 30s. Snape is supposed to be 31 in book 1.