Mark Rylance is reportedly the frontrunner for the role of Dumbledore in HBO‘s upcoming Harry Potter series – find out more below.
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According to a report from Variety, the Wolf Hall and Bridge Of Spies actor sits atop the casting director’s wishlist, though it also confirms that HBO and Warner Bros. have yet to enter negotiations with the prolific film and stage actor. However, they have reached out to Rylance to gauge his interest in the iconic role.
In a statement to Variety, reps for HBO said: “We appreciate that such a high profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise deals.”
Mark Rylance. Credit: Lia Toby/Getty Images for BFI
Dumbledore has been portrayed by four actors throughout the eight mainline Harry Potter films and three Fantastic Beasts prequels. Richard Harris played the character in The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets before his death, and was later replaced by Michael Gambon for the remaining six mainline films. Gambon died in 2023 at the age of 82.
In flashbacks during Deathly Hallows Parts I and II, a young Dumbledore was portrayed by Toby Regbo. Finally, a middle-aged Dumbledore was portrayed by Jude Law in the Fantastic Beasts films.
So far, no one has been cast in the upcoming HBO series, though open castings for the series leads opened in the UK and Ireland in September.
Richard Harris as Dumbledore. Credit: AFP/AFP via Getty Images
The show is expected to run for seven seasons, with each adapting one of the books in J.K. Rowling’s series. Rowling is also said to be involved with the series, which many fans objected to. It was recently announced that the show would see Succession duo Francesca Gardiner as its writer and showrunner, and Mark Mylod as director on multiple episodes.
In October, Warner Bros. TV Group boss Channing Dungey confirmed that the series will be “more in-depth” than the movies: “It’s an unbelievable dream, honestly, and as somebody who is a huge fan of books, the opportunity to get to explore them in maybe a little bit more in-depth than you can in just a two-hour film, that’s the whole reason we’re on this journey.”
In other news, beloved actor Maggie Smith – who played Professor McGonagall – across all eight Harry Potter films died in late September at the age of 89. You can see Daniel Radcliffe’s tribute to the legendary actor here.
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