The first look at Ron's recast mother, Molly Weasley, was revealed from Harry Potter's HBO reboot series production. Warner Bros. has had no easy task replacing the original Harry Potter movie cast for the HBO series, especially given the caliber of British talent featured in the eight-film saga. The Weasleys' loving matriarch, Molly, was originally played by the two-time Oscar-nominated actress Julie Walters. This time around, Harry's surrogate mother figure will be played by Rivals and The IT Crowd star Katherine Parkinson.
The Harry Potter remake has found most of its Weasleys, having started filming over a month ago in the U.K. Newcomers Alistair Stout, Gracie Cochrane, Tristan and Gabriel Harland, and Ruari Spooner are taking over as Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, and Percy Weasley, respectively, and will make their debuts in Season 1, which will adapt Book 1, The Philosopher's Stone, and premiere in 2027.
New set photos from HBO's Harry Potter reboot revealed the best looks yet at the Weasley family preparing to board the Hogwarts Express at King's Cross Train Station in London, with Katherine Parkinson's Molly accompanying them. This marks the full look at the Weasleys' new mother in the reboot, replacing Julie Walters, and she perfectly captured the matriarch's spirit.
At 47 years old, Parkinson is just three years younger than the 50-year-old Walters was when she debuted as Molly Weasley in 2001's The Philosopher's Stone.
Wizarding World Direct took to X to take a deeper dive into Molly Weasley's rebooted attire, pointing out her '90s look, retro gold earrings, glamorous makeup, and varied shades, all of which perfectly encapsulated the icon.
Fans also caught the best look yet at pranksters Fred and George, played by real-life twins, Tristan and Gabriel Harland. The future owners of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes joke shop will be going into their third year at Hogwarts, right as Harry and Ron are just beginning their journey in Season 1.
The Weasleys' youngest children, Ron and Ginny, were also captured on set, played by the young Alistair Stout and Gracie Cochrane, respectively. That said, as Ginny lands one year below her brother and future love interest Harry, she won't be going to Hogwarts until Season 2, when she will open the Chamber of Secrets.
A further look at the recast Ron highlights the attention to detail in the HBO reboot, as he looks to be representing the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team on his top. Fans of J.K. Rowling's novels will be well aware that Ron is a super-fan of the Chudley Cannons, having his room decorated with posters of the team.
Ahead of shifting production to King's Cross Train Station, HBO took to Instagram to share the first look at the new Weasley kids united. That said, their mother and father, Molly and Arthur, and older brothers, Charlie and Bill, were all excluded; although the latter three aren't expected to appear until future seasons.
The reboot has lined up a fully recast roster that includes Dominic McLaughlin's Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton's Hermione Granger, John Lithgow's Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost's Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu's Severus Snape, Janet McTeer's Minerva McGonagall, and many more to revive the seven-book saga.
Find out how HBO has tried to protect to Harry Potter reboot cast from backlash.
HBO's Harry Potter Will Be Casting More Weasley Actors Soon
While most of the Weasleys have been cast for Harry Potter Season 1 filming, patriarch Arthur and the eldest brothers Bill and Charlie haven't. Unfortunately, those reveals won't be coming for some time, with Arthur not due to appear until Season 2, while Bill and Charlie may not until Season 4.
Arthur Weasley is a major figure in the Harry Potter franchise, meaning his casting and chemistry with Katherine Parkinson's Molly will be all-important. Actors such as The Hobbit's Martin Freeman, Jojo Rabbit's Stephen Merchant, and Hot Fuzz's Simon Pegg are three options to bring the muggle-obsessed ministry worker to life.
As all of the Harry Potter movies' original actors are being recast, one actor is preparing to reprise his role in 2026 as Tom Felton returns as Draco Malfoy on the Broadway stage for The Cursed Child.
Second-oldest brother Charlie doesn't appear until he attends the Quidditch World Cup with the other Weasleys in The Goblet of Fire, but he is mentioned in The Philosopher's Stone as he is out of the country working with Dragons in Romania.
Interestingly, the Harry Potter reboot may have moved up Charlie's debut as its Weasley-centric Instagram caption teased, "Charlie’s in Romania at the moment but will be joining us soon enough..." This may point to more of the Weasleys than expected showing up in Season 1, making for some changes to the books.
