Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today we’re going to be discussing the recently announced HBO Harry Potter TV Series!
For those who live under a rock, the announcement of a new Harry Potter HBO series made headlines
all around the world this week.
Following speculation in early April, Warner Bros. Discovery finally put the rumours to
rest on April 12th by confirming their plans for a brand-new Harry Potter series based
on the best-selling novels.
This announcement occurred during a presentation to press and investors.
"We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,"
said HBO CEO Casey Bloys in a statement.
"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love
and thirst for the Wizarding World."
"Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible
adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films
will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."
Along with the announcement came a teaser trailer posted to HBO’s official Twitter,
including the words:
“Your Hogwarts Letter is here.
Max has ordered the first ever #HarryPotter scripted television series, a faithful adaptation
of the iconic books.
#StreamOnMax”
And while I’m excited about the new show there does seem to be one question that keeps
re-entering my mind: Who’s going to be in it?
Part of this will depend entirely on what direction the show takes.
If the show does in fact deep dive in to each of the books, as has been reported, then there
are certainly going to be a lot of big shoes to fill.
However, if they decide to give us a new perspective of the wizarding world and introduce a multitude
of new main characters that are SPRINKLED IN amongst known characters, then I’d imagine
casting would come a lot easier.
From the sounds of things it’s probably going to be more in line with the former,
and that’s why today I’m going to be recasting Harry Potter for 2023.
Assuming that the series will start with the first book, the Philosopher’s Stone, let’s
start there and recast some of the main characters from the first installment in the series.
Let’s dive in to it.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter, the main protagonist from the Harry Potter series and the famous boy who
lived, is the driving force of the Harry Potter movies.
Without him, the films cease to exist, and that’s why I can say with conviction that
the casting of Harry is crucial to the success of the reboot.
For the most part, we’re looking at the wizarding world through the lens of Harry,
a young boy that discovers his magical heritage quite late in life and has to undergo the
trials and tribulations of a newcomer entering the wizarding world.
Whoever takes on the role of Harry will have to have an incredibly strong emotional range.
The other main consideration when recasting Harry is that whoever reprises the role will
be instantly compared to Daniel Radcliffe.
Unfair as it may be, this will inevitably happen, so I think it may be best to cast
a relatively unknown or fresh actor that has a clean slate.
If the announcements are anything to go by, the proposed show is going to have a lot of
seasons, which of course means that we’ll witness the actors growing up first hand.
Starting from a blank canvas seems like the best option here, even if it may seem like
a bit of a gamble.
After all, it seemed to work out pretty well for the originals!
Hermione and Ron
Bearing what I’ve just said in mind, I think that this new actor thing would also apply
to Hermione, Ron, and well- just about every chil*d actor / Hogwarts student that’s meant
to take place in the series.
Hiring lesser known actors and allowing them to blossom in to the roles seems like the
best course of action.
It won’t be easy to find an Emma Watson or a Rupert Grint, but nobody said remaking
Harry Potter would be easy.
The same CANNOT be said, however, for the adult actors.
If the Harry Potter films are anything to go by, then an illustrious cast of respected
British actors and actresses can certainly do no harm to a film production.
The Alan Rickmans, the Ralph Fiennes, the John Hurts and the Maggie Smiths and their
existing acting accolades were all pivotal in ensuring the success of the Harry Potter
films.
Hagrid
Hogwarts Keeper of Keys and Grounds Rubeus Hagrid is a beloved character from the Harry
Potter series- a half-giant with a heart of gold and a deep love for all creatures great
and small.
With the recent passing of Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid over the course of the Harry
Potter films, it brings a somber element to Hagrid’s recasting.
One thing to hold on to, however, is that I imagine Robbie Coltrane himself would be
supportive of Hagrid’s legacy being continued.
As far as recasting, the first person that comes to MY mind is Greg Draven, who does
an expert impersonation of Hagrid and actually portrayed Hagrid in the Magical Creatures
Motorbike Adventure ride.
I was familiarized with Greg when some friends of mine bought me one of his cameos for my
birthday.
The best part?
Greg knew Robbie Coltrane.
I think he’d smash the role.
Another potential candidate for Hagrid could be Nick Frost- British actor, writer, and
comedian who is perhaps best known for his work with director Edgar Wright and actor
Simon Pegg.
He’s a warm actor with a good sense of comedic timing and a big heart, but one of the detractors
for me is that he doesn’t appear to have quite the same calm demeanour as Coltrane-
often coming across as a bit manic.
Another viable option is Mark Addy- an English actor best known for his role as Dave in ‘The
Full Monty’ and King Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones.
Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore was Hogwarts’ headmaster and the most powerful wizard in the wizarding
world.
He was originally played by actor Richard Harris, but after Harris tragically passed
away in 2002, the role was reprised by actor Michael Gambon.
Michael Gambon is still around and I certainly wouldn’t complain if he reprised the role,
but I expect that won’t happen.
Although I suspect there may be a strong temptation from Warner Bros to cast Jude Law (who played
Albus Dumbledore in Fantastic Beasts) I suspect that Law is still too young for the role.
One pick for Dumbledore that I saw floating around online was Brian Cox, one of the stars
of HBO’s hit show ‘Succession’.
Cox is a 75 year old classically trained Shakespearean actor with an incredibly wide range in terms
of acting ability.
He’s got the right look and I think he’s about the right age.
Adding Brian Cox to the cast would lengthen the long list of existing Shakespearean actors
in Harry Potter which includes Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh
and Imelda Staunton- to name a few.
Given Cox’s proximity to HBO and his Scottish heritage, I think he’d be a great pick.
Severus Snape
Severus Snape, Potions Master, Tormenter of Harry, and Lily lover was one of the most
iconic grey characters in all of film and was expertly played by the late Alan Rickman.
Snape is MY favourite character in Harry Potter so this is a tough one for me to move past,
but in the interest of producing the best possible Harry Potter remake I still want
to give it some real thought.
The name that I’ve seen everywhere thus far is Adam Driver, which from a voice, looks
and age standpoint would actually fit the 32 year old Severus Snape (that’s his age
in Harry’s first year) quite well.
The only problem is that Adam Driver isn’t BRITISH and I would have to see some really
good examples of his voicework to make any further comments on his casting.
Until I’ve heard his accent I can’t confidently say that he’d work in the role.
The next option could be Benedict Cumberbatch.
He’s loosely the right age, he’s an amazing actor, he’s got the right range and he even
has a demonstrated ability to do Snape’s voice (as shown on Jimmy Fallon).
Another option to consider is Tom Hiddleston, who notably plays Loki in the Avengers films.
There are some other names that come to my mind like Tim Roth, Rufus Sewell and maybe
even Christopher eccleston, but I think they may all just be a bit too old to portray the
32 year old Snape at this point, at least if the creators of the show want to stay true
to the books.
In the case of Alan Rickman, they made an exception.
With just a few of those main actors out of the way I’m going to stop myself and ruminate
some more on my decisions.
I’m curious to see what you all think, and who YOU’D cast in these iconic roles.
Please leave a comment down below with what you think about the show, what you think about
my casting decisions, and well, anything else you want to comment about.
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live