HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter TV series has left fans divided after several castings were officially announced this week.
A handful of key wizarding roles have been revealed with Oscar-nominee John Lithgow set to step into the shoes of Hogwarts headteacher Albus Dumbledore.
Meanwhile Nick Frost will play the loveable Hagrid, while Janet McTeer will play Professor McGonogall and Paapa Essiedu is stepping into the late Alan Rickman‘s shoes as Severus Snape. Meanwhile, casting for Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and of course Harry Potter himself is still in progress.
It could have been a touching full circle moment that would have seen Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reunite as part of the franchise for the first time since the release of Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011.
The reason many of the roles have been re-cast is because the original stars such as Robbie Coltrane, Richard Harris, Dame Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman have passed away. There is nothing to say that the reboot needs to have an entirely new set of actors.
But it has become increasingly apparent that the chance of a reunion or any sort of cameo seems less than likely, given their very public feud with JK Rowling who is executive producer on the HBO series.
It could have been a full circle moment that would have seen Daniel Radcliffe , Rupert Grint and Emma Watson reunite – yet the threesome fell out with JK Rowling (pictured 2011)
The author’s relationship has deteriorated with the original cast following her remarks about the trans community in 2020, in which she said she believed women were defined by their biological sex and not their gender identity.
She strongly denies that she is transphobic.
Daniel confirmed he and Rowling no longer speak after the writer insisted she would never forgive the younger stars of the film franchise for speaking out against her views on trans rights.
The actor, 35, initially fell out with the Scottish writer after he penned an article declaring ‘transgender women are women’ shortly after Rowling criticised using the phrase ‘people who menstruate’ rather than women.
And last May Daniel reignited a row with Rowling when he admitted that just because the author made him a star it did not mean his views on gender ideology had to align with hers.
Meanwhile Emma and Rupert have also taken a strong stance against her.
The actress, 35, said in a Tweet following Rowling’s initial comments: ‘Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are.’
She has also previously shared an image of herself in a T-shirt reading: ‘Trans rights are human rights.’
The author’s relationship has deteriorated with the original cast following her remarks about the trans community in 2020 (pictured in 2005)
Daniel confirmed he and Rowling no longer speak after the writer insisted she would never forgive the younger stars for speaking out against her views on trans rights
Emma has also taken a strong stance against Rowling when she responded to her initial comments in a Tweet writing: ‘Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are’
At the 2022 Baftas Emma further appeared to make a subtle dig towards Rowling.
As host Rebel Wilson called her onto the stage, she announced ‘she calls her self a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch.’
Emma then replied ‘I’m here for all the witches’ which many viewers deemed was the actress making a jibe at Rowling.
That same year, Rupert described Rowling as his ‘auntie’ but added in an article in The Times: ‘I don’t necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she’s still my auntie. It’s a tricky one.’
Yet while the three have shunned Rowling, their own careers have waned in recent years.
After main roles starring in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, the live action version of Beauty And The Beast and Little Women, Emma took a step back from acting.
The star left the limelight to embark on a Masters in Creative Writing at Oxford University.
However it was revealed earlier this month that she has failed to finish her degree and has instead reportedly decided to embark on a DPhil course, Oxford’s version of a PhD, likely in English or Literature and Arts.
Yet without her master’s Emma won’t meet the entry standards to study most humanities subjects any further.
Sources told The Mail On Sunday that she was ‘rather aloof’ on campus and spent a lot of time at Oriel college, where her rumoured boyfriend studied, rather than at her own college Lady Margaret Hall.
Rupert has even admitted he was close to leaving acting all together after the birth of his daughter in 2021
Emma has failed to finish her degree and has instead reportedly decided to embark on a DPhil course, Oxford’s version of a PhD, likely in English or Literature and Arts (pictured in 2003)
Meanwhile Rupert has even admitted he was close to leaving acting all together after the birth of his daughter in 2021.
He confessed he had never felt ‘comfortable’ with being famous and considered turning his hand to another trade.
Rupert said: ‘I’ve always toyed with the idea of walking away from acting and becoming a dad has increased those feelings. Don’t get me wrong, I love working on [the horror series] Servant and feel extremely comfortable in a TV environment.
‘But Potter happened at such a young age and I found it hard to deal with the fame side of things. If I ever do see Dan [Radcliffe] or Emma [Watson], fame is the one thing we never talk about.
‘There’s no way I would compare us to the Beatles, but they always said it was impossible to describe what it was like being a Beatle unless you were there. Maybe us three experienced a tiny bit of that.’
He hasn’t had any acting credits since horror series servant in 2023.
Meanwhile even Daniel’s career has appeared to slow down in the last few years.
After his famous breakout role, Daniel went on to star in films like The Woman in Black, Kill Your Darlings, Victor Frankenstein and The Lost City alongside Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.
He also received greater critical acclaim, bagging his first Emmy nomination for playing the titular role in 2022 biopic Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and winning a Tony Award for his performance as Charley Kringas in 1981 Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along.
The highly acclaimed six-time Emmy , two-time Tony Award, Olivier winner, and BAFTA and Oscar nominee John Lithgow (pictured) is confirmed to step into the shoes of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore
Rubeus Hagrid, who was the gamekeeper and groundskeeper of the school and known for his long hair and beard, is set to be portrayed by BIFA nominee Nick Frost (pictured L)
While Tony Award, Golden Globe, and Olivier winner, and Oscar and Emmy nominee Janet McTeer (pictured L) will be professor Minerva McGonagall
However instead of acting, Daniel appears to just be working on voiceovers, as his most recent work sees him voice King Jeremy in cartoon series Mulligan.
While the wizarding world of Harry Potter is firmly behind the threesome, the cast of the new series has been revealed with fans arguing it has lost it British charm after John Lithgow was cast as Dumbledore.
Particularly given JK Rowling’s insistence that the cast of the original films be British, fans wrote on X: ‘I can’t understand why John Lithgow is the new Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter HBO series. Dumbledore is British, Lithgow is from the USA.’
‘Nothing against John Lithgow, but Dumbledore and the whole Harry Potter franchise is British.’
Rubeus Hagrid, who was the gamekeeper and groundskeeper of the school and known for his long hair and beard, is set to be portrayed by BIFA nominee Nick Frost.
While Tony Award, Golden Globe, and Olivier winner, and Oscar and Emmy nominee Janet McTeer will be professor Minerva McGonagall, who was previously played by the late Dame Maggie Smith in the films.
Emmy, Olivier, and BAFTA nominee Paapa Essiedu is set to play Severus Snape, who was portrayed by Alan Rickman in the films.
The show will also feature guest appearances, including from comic Paul Whitehouse who previously starred on The Fast Show and will play Argus Filch.
Luke Thallon will portray Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell.
The show will also feature guest appearances, including from comic Paul Whitehouse (pictured L) who previously starred on The Fast Show and will play Argus Filch
Emmy, Olivier, and BAFTA nominee Paapa Essiedu (pictured L) is set to play Severus Snape, who was played by Alan Rickman in the films (R)
While Luke Thallon (pictured) will portray Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Quirinus Quirrell
Showrunner and executive producer Francesca Gardiner said: ‘We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch.’
Executive producer and director Mark Mylod added: ‘We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life.’
The new series is aims to ‘lead a new generation of fandom’ and hopes to recapture the beloved details Harry Potter fans have enjoyed for 25 years.
It will be executive produced by Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Ruth Kenley-Letts, Neil Blair and David Heyman.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .