Harry Potter and the 32,000 Wannabes: Massive numbers apply for roles in new HBO series

8 December 2024, 00:37

The new Harry Potter TV series is set to start filming next year in 2025 and has had an influx of auditions for the lead roles.

HBO announced an open casting call this September to find the new Harry, Hermione and Ron for the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Since then, 32,000 child actors have auditioned for the main characters originally played by Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermione.

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Executive producer Mark Mylod has said that he plans to watch every audition, starting with 500 and 1000 a day. He says that they haven't "made any final choices, but we’re workshopping with a shortlist in January."

Filming of the series is set to start next year in the summer of 2025.

According to an article in Variety in November, Mark Rylance is "at the top of the casting wishlist" for Dumbledore.

HBO chief Casey Bloys has spoken about the controversy about the writer of the book series, J.K. Rowling's involvement in the TV series saying "I’m totally comfortable with it and I’m not worried about it.

'Look at the huge success of the Hogwarts video game last year. I’m not concerned about consumer response.”

The Harry Potter TV show has allegedly been in the works since 2021, is said to be a "faithful adaptation" of Rowling's novels.

Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO, has said that the is set to debut sometime in 2026 but could potentially premiere in early 2027.