Credit: Inside the MagicThe Harry Potter reboot has revealed its all-new cast.
With so many new Harry Potter installments coming up, we’re moving even further away from the actors who brought all the many Wizarding World characters to life on the big screen.
While the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson will forever be synonymous with their respective Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry counterparts, their performances will soon be buried beneath many new iterations.
Several Wizarding World entries are in the works, but the one on everyone’s mind is the upcoming TV series headed for HBO and Max.
Harry Potter (TBA) will essentially reboot the film series that started with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (AKA Sorcerer’s Stone) in 2001 and ended with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 in 2011 while also serving as a more “faithful adaptation” of the seven books by JK Rowling.
Spanning seven seasons, each based on one of the books, the series will feature an entirely new set of actors who’ll be taking on roles from Ron Weasley to Rubeus Hagrid, Severus Snape to Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore to Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, and Dobby the House Elf to Dudley Dursley.
While the idea of a Harry Potter reboot in itself is hard to swallow, seeing new actors play these characters will be a huge challenge in its own right.
But it seems Warner Bros. is preparing audiences to get used to seeing the likes of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger played by new actors long before the TV series hits the streaming services. With many other projects in the works, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson might be about to become a thing of the past for many fans.
Not only are we getting a new Harry Potter audiobook series that will involve a full recasting, but there’s also the video game “Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions” (2024) — releasing today, September 3 — which takes place during the Harry Potter era and features everyone from Ginny Weasley to Draco Malfoy and beyond.
While a cast has yet to be revealed, the actors from the films have not returned to lend their vocal talents to the game.
In addition to “Quidditch Champions,” this year’s “Back to Hogwarts” showcase unveiled several new upcoming Harry Potter installments and experiences, which include the “LEGO Harry Potter Collection” video game series and the new Ministry of Magic and 1920s Paris (as seen in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald) at Universal’s Epic Universe.
But it’s not just the upcoming experiences we should be excited about — many existing ones are getting new updates and enhancements, from the mobile game “Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells” to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter.
Then there’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the spellbinding stage play that’s been transporting guests to the Wizarding World since 2016. Written by Jack Thorne and based on an original story by Rowling, Thorne, and John Tiffany (who’s also the director), it picks up where Deathly Hallows left off — the epilogue set 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts.
The “eighth Harry Potter story” follows Harry’s son Albus Severus Potter, who befriends Draco’s son Scorpius Malfoy during his first year at Hogwarts. When the pair get their hands on a Time-Turner, they travel back to try and undo the death of Cedric Diggory as seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but, to quote Albus Dumbledore, “awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time.”
Cursed Child has received wide praise over the years, getting several award nominations and winning nine, including Best New Play at the 2017 Laurence Olivier Awards. Though it originally started in London’s West End, it’s now playing throughout several worldwide locations: New York, Hamburg, Tokyo, and North America.
Initially, the play was split into two parts, which were either on the same day or across two. However, in June 2021, the production was re-staged into a single 3.5 hour performances for Broadway, San Francisco, Melbourne, Toronto, Tokyo, and Hamburg. The original West End version continues to be shown across two performances.
Related: ‘Harry Potter’ Reboot May Be Canon With the Film Series After All
Now, per London Theatre, the critically acclaimed award-winning stage play has announced a roster of brand-new cast members, each of whom will be drinking lots of Polyjuice potion and taking to the stage as the iconic Harry Potter characters at the West End’s Palace Theater from October 15 until June 29, 2025.
Cursed Child‘s new cast includes David Ricardo-Pearce as Harry Potter, Thomas Aldridge as Ron Weasley, Jade Ogugua as Hermione Granger, Steve John Shepherd as Draco Malfoy, Ellis Rae as Albus Potter, Harry Acklowe as Scorpius Malfoy, Claire Lams as Ginny Potter, and Eve De Leon Allen as Rose Granger-Weasley.
The cast also includes Ishmail Aaron, David Annen, Nicole-Lily Baisden, Sabina Cameron, Rob Curtis, Zijuan Elsol, Helen Power, Jocelyn Prah, Conor Quinn, Ian Redford, Catherine Russell, Martin de los Santos, Adam Slynn, Benjamin Stratton, Gabriel Fleary, Rory Fraser, Tim Hibberd, Sally Jayne Hind, Max Hunter, Dewayne Jameson Adams, Emma Louise Jones, Julia Kass, Debra Lawrance, Tasha Lim, Matty Loane, Sophie Matthew, Jaden Oshenye, Alex Tomkins, Jake Tuesley, Sam Varley, and Katie Wimpenny.
Oliver Dawson, Layla Duke, Aubrey Hayes, Rhiannon Parry, Aljosa Radosavljevic, Sienna Sibley, and Ethan Webster alternate two children’s roles.
Visit the official Cursed Child website for more information.
Related: ‘Harry Potter’ Sequel May Opt for Post-‘Cursed Child’ Era as One of Many Much-Needed Improvements
When Is the Harry Potter TV Series Coming Out?
The Harry Potter TV series is expected to premiere on HBO sometime in 2026, according to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
While not much else has been revealed besides a short teaser and some of the creatives involved (including JK Rowling as an executive producer), we know that the series will span seven seasons, each based on one of the books and will feature entirely new actors. Warner Bros. has also reportedly said that it’s making a “concerted effort” to diversify the cast.
Have you watched Cursed Child yet? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!