John Lithgow was sought for the role of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series.
It appears that HBO may have identified its Headmaster for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in its TV adaptation of the Harry Potter book series, as Deadline reports that John Lithgow is in final talks for the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore. The accomplished actor recently starred in the Oscar-nominated Conclave and will soon appear with Geoffrey Rush in the highly anticipated horror film The Rule of Jenny Pen [watch the trailer here]. If an agreement is reached, six-time Emmy winner Lithgow would make history as the first official cast member in the Harry Potter series, succeeding Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, who portrayed the character in the Warner Bros film series, alongside Jude Law, who took on a younger version of Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs.
Although HBO has not released any official casting announcements, several actors have been speculated for various roles, with rumors previously suggesting Mark Rylance for Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu for Professor Snape, Sharon Horgan and Lesley Manville for Professor McGonagall, Brett Goldstein for Hagrid, and Cillian Murphy for Lord Voldemort. It remains to be seen whether any of these names will ultimately join the cast, but with HBO aiming for a late 2026 premiere, we shouldn't have to wait long for the cast to start to take shape.
Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve) is serving as the showrunner for the Harry Potter series, with Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) directing several episodes and also executive producing alongside Rowling and David Heyman of Heyday Films.
Share your thoughts on John Lithgow’s potential casting as Dumbledore with us on our social media channels @FlickeringMyth…
About Gary Collinson: Gary Collinson is a producer and writer in film, television, and digital content. He is the founder of the pop culture site FlickeringMyth.com and is producing the upcoming gothic horror film 'The Baby in the Basket'. With a decade of experience in teaching and lecturing on film and media, he is also the author of 'Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen'.
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John Lithgow was sought for the role of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series.
It appears that HBO might have identified its Headmaster for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in its television adaptation of the Harry Potter series. According to Deadline, John Lithgow is in the final stages of negotiations to portray Professor Albus Dumbledore. The experienced actor is recently coming off a role in […]