Harry Potter Villain Reprising Role in Unexpected Way

Dolores Umbridge is back for the new Harry Potter attraction at Universal Orlando!

By Nicole Drum

It's been more than 14 years since fans last saw Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, but now, Imelda Staunton is back to reprise her role as the villainous character. Staunton is bringing back Umbridge for Universal Epic Universe's new Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic attraction set to open at the Universal Orlando Resort next year. Staunton's return to the role was announced in a new, promotional video for the attraction, which also gave fans a look at the new ride as well as a behind-the-scenes look at Staunton bringing the villain to life once again.

According to the official information about the attraction (via Deadline), visitors will "Travel by Métro-Floo from Paris to the British Ministry of Magic where Dolores Umbridge is about to stand trial. Board a lift and join Harry, Ron, and Hermione as you journey deep into the Ministry's many departments. Thrilling adventure, fantastic beats, and unexplored mystery await in Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry."

"She was absolutely brilliant in her performance," Anisha Vyas Burgos, assistant director of projects at Universal Creative says in the video. "She got to take Umbridge to the extreme."

Staunton's return to the world of Harry Potter is a little bit of a surprise, who back in2019 told Hello! magazine that she didn't think she'd return to the franchise after appearing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and then Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, though she also acknowledged the longevity of the franchise's influence — and the importance of her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Of course I can scare people," Staunton said at the time. "I don't get a lot of kids coming up to me actually. It's the grown-up kids — you want to say you are 35 — but they grew up with it. Harry Potter doesn't stop, does it!"

One Harry Potter Star Forgot They Were in the Franchise

While Staunton is coming back to the Harry Potter franchise for the new theme park attraction, another star recently revealed that she had forgotten that she was in the films while watching the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Evanna Lynch, who played Luna Lovegood and joined the franchise in the fifth movie, said she found herself watching Prisoner of Azkaban with her partner and briefly forgot she was part of the overall franchise.

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"I don't watch the films as it's too emotional, but recently, Prisoner of Azkaban was on and my partner and started passively watching it, and I had that strong feeling of, 'I want to be part of that world,' and then remembered, 'Oh, I already am!' "Lynch said. "The fans have kept that world very alive in my life. I continue to try to find that sense of belonging in other communities, but none have proved quite so profound a match yet. So yes, I'll always be happy to see a familiar face in the Harry Potter world."

About Universal Epic Universe's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — The Ministry of Magic

Earlier this year, Universal Orlando unveiled details about the new Harry Potter attraction: Beyond the world's ornate portal, guests will first journey from a Muggle park in Paris into the breathtaking spectacle of 1920's Place Cachée – a hidden, bustling shopping district in wizarding Paris lined with Haussmannian buildings, shops, sidewalk cafes, and historic Parisian domes rising in the distance. Here, wizards and non-magiques alike will be enamoured with the majestic grandeur and enchanting ambiance of the city as they cast dazzling spells throughout the magical streets using interactive wands, encounter fantastic beasts at a traveling circus, and — for the first time ever within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — travel across countries and time to 1990s London using the Métro-Floo for a thrilling adventure set inside the iconic British Ministry of Magic."

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