Remaking a beloved movie or TV show is never easy. When the franchise being remade is as big as Harry Potter, then getting fans on side is almost an impossible task. Even ignoring the constant noise about author J.K. Rowling, there are many who see HBO Max’s upcoming Harry Potter TV show a pointless exercise in money-grabbing from Warner Bros. However, recent footage of filming on the show has been getting an increasingly positive response from fans, despite it involving a character whose recast is one of several that comes with the burden of taking over a role from an actor no longer with us. Several stars of the original Harry Potter movies have sadly passed away in the years since they turned Rowling’s cast of wizards, witches and muggles into legends of cinema. Dame Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon, who play the role of Albus Dumbledore across the franchise, and Robbie Coltrane are the most notable. In the case of the latter, playing Hogwarts gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid endeared Coltrane to a much younger audience than many of his other roles, and now comedy actor Nick Frost is stepping into the very large shoes of the gentle giant. And as more footage of him on set appeared online, along with his body double filming with new Harry Potter, Dominic McLaughlin, fans have been getting more and more behind the casting and the series.

‘Harry Potter’ Casting Has Caused Controversy

Warner Bros.

Today, more stars were added to the growing cast of HBO’s Harry Potter series, with several members of the Weasley family being announced. However, these castings were really a moot point for many, as despite the roles of Ginny, George, Fred, and Percy Weasley are prominent throughout the story, their original actors were only children when cast two decades ago and, for some reason, that doesn’t hold quite the same romantic air as the adult stars of the movies. Nick Frost’s casting as Hagrid was generally well received, with the obvious grumbles of “cosplay Hagrid” and such like in various comments. However, the casting of American John Lithgow as Dumbledore (“How dare they cast an American? It should have been someone British!”) and Black actor Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape (who was even still receiving complaints in comments on the new set footage not featuring the character) were two big bugbears among the casting announcements made so far. In the end, though, the Harry Potter TV show is happening. New actors will be playing the characters that a whole generation grew up with, and – regardless of threats otherwise – the series will be one of the biggest original shows to ever hit HBO and HBO Max because that is just how things work. With the series not set to be released until early 2027, there will be plenty more opinions to be shared before the premiere episode arrives. Why not tell us yours?

Harry Potter

Showrunner

Francisca Gardiner

Directors

Mark Mylod

Writers

Francesca Gardiner