‘Harry Potter’ HBO Series to Film in Summer 2025 After 32,000 Kids Auditioned for Lead Roles
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that its upcoming “Harry Potter” series will start shooting this summer at Leavesden, where the movies were also filmed.
During a presentation at the Warner Bros. Discovery’s headquarters in London on Thursday, showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod revealed that the show had auditioned 32,000 kids for the lead roles, and that the team is currently reviewing 5,000 audition tapes per day. Gardiner and Mylod also said they will be sticking to correct canonical ages for the characters: Snape (potentially being played by Paapa Essiedu) will be in his 30s, while James and Lily Potter will be younger, as the characters were they were 21 when they died.
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With the “Harry Potter” series being set to air over the course of a decade, Gardiner said she was excited to “really dig into the character arcs” and explore Hogwarts more, including the lives of its staff, beloved and feared alike.
The “Harry Potter” series was officially ordered at Max in April 2023, and it was announced that it would feature an entirely new cast from the popular films. In September, the series opened a casting call for the roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione and said they were “committed to inclusive, diverse casting.” Though it is still unknown who will be playing the intrepid trio, Variety revealed last month that Mark Rylance is at the top of the cashing wishlist to play beloved Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore.
The run-up to the series has not been without controversy, however, as book author J.K. Rowling has continued to cause backlash with her views on transgender identity. However, HBO has stood by her side, telling Variety in a statement last month: “J.K. Rowling has a right to express her personal views. We will remain focused on the development of the new series, which will only benefit from her involvement.”
At Thursday’s event, HBO chief Casey Bloys doubled down on that sentiment, saying that he’s “totally comfortable” with Rowling’s involvement and “not concerned about consumer response.”
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