New rumored castings and details for HBO's Harry Potter reboot claim Stranger Things actor Jamie Campbell Bower may be playing Lord Voldemort.
After supposedly failing to get a ninth movie adapting The Cursed Child stage play off the ground, Warner Bros. is setting course to reboot Harry Potter with a new seven-season HBO series that will span the next decade.
New HBO Harry Potter Rumors Go Viral
A viral Facebook post offered a supposed update on HBO and Max's upcoming Harry Potter reboot series, including a release window, new logo, episode count details, and castings for several major characters and actors.
The post alleged that Harry Potter will run for seven 10-episode seasons (one per book) and premiere in Fall 2026. Stranger Things actor Jamie Campbell Bower will join the cast as Voldemort (previously played by Ralph Fiennes).
The alleged cast list featured in the post can be seen below:
- Toby Woolf - Harry Potter
- Joshua Pickering - Ron Weasley
- Bronte Carmichael - Hermione Granger
- Lesley Manville - Minerva McGonagall
- Peter Capaldi - Albus Dumbledore
- Jamie Campbell Bower - Voldemort
- Kristian Nairn - Rubeus Hagrid
- Angus Imrie - Professor Quirell
- Edward Bluemel - Professor Snape
- Lucy David - Aunt Petunia
As revealed on the official Wizarding World website, casting for the Harry Potter reboot only began in early September 2024, with an open call for young stars in the U.K. and Ireland to audition for roles as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
With the casting for the series leads only just getting underway, a process that is bound to take some time and involve thousands of applicants, the rumored castings circulating on Facebook are false.
The logo featured on the post is also a fan-made creation. The HBO series has only been branded with the same logo used for the original eight movies, but that may well change closer to release to distinguish the adaptations.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav previously revealed (via Deadline) that the series is expected to premiere in 2026, but no exact window has been confirmed yet.
When Will HBO's Harry Potter Cast Be Announced?
As the official casting call for the Golden Trio called for British actors who will be aged 9 to 11 in April 2025, HBO is likely planning to begin production around then as it searches for actors who will most closely resemble the characters' ages.
If production does begin in April 2025, the rumored Fall 2026 release window will probably prove roughly accurate. This will allow around a year and a half to film and complete post-production on Season 1 before airing around the holidays.
As that potential filming date is now only six months away, fans should expect castings for the series to begin flying in late 2024 and early 2025. Roles such as the professors, parents, and villains will likely be filled closer to production once the Wizarding World's leading young heroes have been found.
A previous rumor from insider Jeff Sneider claimed HBO would be making a "concerted effort" to cast "more people of color" in the series after the limited diversity of the original movies.
This effort could see some significant players be race-swapped for their updated castings, with many suggesting Hermione could be among them as she has famously been portrayed as black in every iteration of The Cursed Child play.
That said, as not every character appears in the first book, some roles may not be filled until closer to their debut in future seasons.
Even Voldemort only appears vaguely on the back of Professor Quirell's head at the climax of The Sorcerer's Stone, not appearing properly until the fourth installment, The Goblet of Fire, meaning he may not be cast for several years.
Once Voldemort does appear, many will agree that Stranger Things' Vecna actor Jamie Campbell Bower would be a stellar casting choice. Recently, there were also rumors circulating social media that Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy may have been cast as Voldemort, but those appear to be equally baseless.
Read about the actors who could play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter reboot series.
Harry Potter will premiere on HBO and Max in 2026.
