John Lithgow in Talks to Play Dumbledore in HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series!

A live-action ‘Harry Potter’ TV series was first reported to be in development for HBO Max in January 2021. However, there were issues with rights to the franchise due to an existing deal with Warner Bros. that lasted until April 2025.

The series was officially confirmed in April 2023 and will be available on Max (formerly HBO Max). In February 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the show would launch in 2026. Then, in June 2024, it was announced that the series would be moved from Max to HBO.

So far nothing is known about the show in the official sense, no actors have been officially cast, but Mark Rylance is close to being signed for the role of Albus Dumbledore. There have been rumors about actors, including Cillian Murphy for the role of Lord Voldemort, but these are not true and were never confirmed by the official sources.

Now sources close to Deadline report that John Lithgow, a well-known actor with six Emmy Awards, is close to signing a deal to play Professor Albus Dumbledore.

While reports suggest Lithgow is in final talks for the role, HBO has not officially confirmed anything. The network acknowledged the speculation but stated they will only announce casting details once everything is finalized.

Dumbledore is a powerful wizard who serves as the headmaster of Hogwarts and leads the Order of the Phoenix, a group dedicated to stopping the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort.

In the ‘Harry Potter’ movies, Richard Harris and Michael Gambon played Dumbledore, while Jude Law portrayed a younger version of him in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films.

Unlike these actors, who are British or Irish, John Lithgow is American. However, he has experience playing British roles, including Winston Churchill in ‘The Crown,’ which earned him an Emmy, and Roald Dahl in a London stage production.

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