The magazine reports that sources have confirmed the news about the six-time Emmy winner, however HBO declined to comment.
“We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation,” the network told Deadline in a statement. “As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise deals.”
The Harry Potter series is designed to run over a decade and is being created by writer/showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director/executive producer Mark Mylod.
When the show was first announced in April 2023, HBO CEO and chairman Casey Bloys said the series would be a “faithful adaptation” of J.K. Rowling’s novels which will “dive deep into each of the iconic books”.
The series will “feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters ‘Harry Potter’ fans have loved for over twenty-five years”.
The series will be filmed at Warner Bros Studios Leavesden where the movies were shot. It’s slated to debut on HBO in late 2026 or early 2027.
No casting announcements have been made for the project yet.
The role of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was played by Richard Harris in the first two Harry Potter films. After his passing, he was replaced by Michael Gambon. Jude Law has also played a younger version of the character in the Fantastic Beasts prequel films.
While Lithgow is American, he is well known for playing British characters. He won the most recent of his six Emmy Awards for The Crown, in which he played Winston Churchill.
There has been much speculation over who will play the beloved characters in the television series. Those rumoured have included Paapa Essiedu for Professor Snape, Lesley Manville for Professor McGonagall and Cillian Murphy for Lord Voldemort.
The three main characters – Harry, Hermione and Ron – will likely be played by newcomers, with Warner Bros. launching an opening casting call in 2024 for kids aged between 9 and 11. Around 32,000 kids sent in audition tapes for the roles.
