The TV reboot of the Harry Potter franchise is moving forward with HBO announcing the first batch of adult stars for upcoming series.
That includes John Lithgor was the new Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape, and Nick Frost as the groundskeeper Hagrid.
Two guests stars were announced as well: Luke Thallon, who will play Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Mr. Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker.
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These roles were played in the Harry Potter movie franchise by Richard Harris (and later Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Hart, and David Bradley, respectively. So far, there’ve been no casting announcements for the central characters, the children who will be playing Harry Potter himself and his various classmates.
The show will restart the popular book-to-film franchise from the beginning; the stated plan is for each season of the show to adapt a single book from author J.K. Rowling’s franchise, starting with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Here is the series’ official synopsis:
The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling and will feature an exciting and talented cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters Harry Potter fans have adored for over 25 years. Exploring every corner of the wizarding world, each season will bring Harry Potter and its incredible adventures to new and existing audiences and will stream exclusively on Max where it’s available globally, including upcoming markets such as Turkey, the UK, Germany, and Italy, among others. The original, classic, and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch around the world.
HBO and Max have yet to announce a premiere date for the series.
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