24 years ago, the lives of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint were changed forever when they made their debut appearances as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in Chris Columbus' Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone. Now, nearly a quarter of a century later (God, we feel old), HBO has found a new Golden Trio to lead its ambitious, decade-spanning upcoming Harry Potter TV series — and there won't be a child in the world who won't soon know their names. Introducing your new Harry Potter, Dominic McLaughlin; the next Hermione Granger, Arabella Stanton; and, as the ever-dependable Ron Weasley, Alastair Stout.
Over the past few months, thousands of children have auditioned to adopt the roles of three of the most famous kids in literary — and indeed screen — history, with the search reaching far and wide as we've learned who'll be playing Harry and his pals' Hogwarts professors. In the end, casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann have stayed true to the original movies' modus operandi, plucking three unknown actors from obscurity to join the Wizarding World. “After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron," said showrunner Francesca Gardiner and co-producer/director Mark Mylod in a joint statement accompanying the casting news. "The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.”
McLaughlin, Stanton, and Stout will be joined on their journey to Hogwarts by a stacked cast including *deep breath* Jonathan Lithgow as headteacher Albus Dumbledore; Nick Frost as keeper of the keys, Hagrid; Paapa Essiedu as potions master Severus Snape; Janet McTeer as Gryffindor head-of-house Minerva McGonagall; Luke Thallon in the role of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell; and Paul Whitehouse as caretaker Argus Filch. Other key roles, including Lord Voldemort, Draco Malfoy, the Dursleys, and the rest of the Weasleys, are yet to be announced.
Set to run over the next decade, with a series dedicated to each individual Harry Potter book, HBO's Harry Potter represents the cable network's first major non-Thronesian fantasy venture since, well, Game Of Thrones itself. As such, with a cast this stacked, pressure so high, and the memory of the beloved original Warner Bros. movies still very much fresh in the minds of Potterheads the world over, it will be fascinating to see how the story of The Boy Who Lived goes down in a new format, for a new generation. And we'll find out whether Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout have the magic touch when HBO's Harry Potter hits our screens in 2027.