It seems that HBO may have found its Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for its TV series adaptation of the Harry Potter book series, with Deadline revealing that John Lithgow is in final negotiations to take on the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore.
The veteran actor is coming off a role in the Oscar-nominated Conclave, and will next been seen alongside Geoffrey Rush in the hotly-anticipated horror The Rule of Jenny Pen [watch the trailer here]. Should a deal be closed, six-time Emmy winner Lithgow would become the first official casting in the Harry Potter series, and would follow in the footsteps of Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, who played the wizard in Warner Bros’ film series (along with Jude Law as a younger incarnation of the character in the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs).
While there’s yet to be any official casting news from HBO, various actors have been linked to parts, with the rumour mill previously throwing out the likes of Mark Rylance as Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Professor Snape, Sharon Horgan and Lesley Manville for Professor McGonagall, Brett Goldstein as Hagrid and Cillian Murphy as Lord Voldemort. Whether any of them ultimately join the series, we shall have to wait and see, but with HBO targeting a late 2026 premiere it should not be too long before the cast starts coming together.
The Harry Potter series is being showrun by Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve), with Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) directing multiple episodes as well as executive producing alongside Rowling and David Heyman of Heyday Films.
Let us know what you make of John Lithgow’s potential casting as Dumbledore over on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Originally published February 13, 2025. Updated February 14, 2025.
