Harry Potter’s Ralph Fiennes Supports This Voldemort Recasting (But Will It Happen?)

Ralph Fiennes is prepared to see someone else play Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter reboot. HBO is preparing to remake the series as a TV show, and recent rumors suggest that Cillian Murphy may be up the role. In an interview on Watch What Happens Live this week, Fiennes gave his blessing for Murphy to play Voldemort, but he has also said he would be willing to return to the role as well.

“Cillian is a fantastic actor. That’s a wonderful suggestion. I would be all in favor of Cillian. Yeah,” Fiennes said when asked about the casting rumor. Commenters were quick to recall that in 2022, Fiennes told Variety he would be willing to reprise his role as Voldemort if called upon. HBO had not officially announced its series at the time, but the Fantastic Beasts series was ongoing, and in general the Harry Potter franchise never seems to stay dormant for long.

At the time, Fiennes also said that he’d have no problem working with Rowling again, despite her advocacy against rights for transgender people. He told The New York Times: “J.K. Rowling has written these great books about empowerment, about young children finding themselves as human beings. It’s about how you become a better, stronger, more morally centered human being. The verbal abuse directed at her is disgusting, it’s appalling.”

It’s unclear if being pro-Rowling will help or hurt actors interested in getting into the Harry Potter business this time around. Back in 2020 when Rowling first began campaigning actively against rights for transgender people, Warner Bros. released a statement saying that it values inclusivity – without mentioning Rowling by name. However, last month HBO chief Casey Bloys made it clear that Rowling is still “very, very involved” in the new adaptation of her books.

Many fans have opted to boycott all Harry Potter and Wizarding World products for the last few years, knowing that there’s no way to engage with the material without supporting Rowling, enriching her, and maintaining her public platform. However, there are signs that boycott may not have been big enough. The video game Hogwarts Legacy saw record-breaking sales, and anticipation for the series is high. On the other hand, those boycotters will expect their favorite stars to show solidarity, so taking a role in this show could be bad in the long run for actors like Fiennes and Murphy.

So far, the only casting rumor for Harry Potter is Oscar winner Mark Rylance, who is reportedly being considered for the role of Dumbledore. According to Variety, Rylance hadn’t even been approached about the idea last month, so it’s unclear if he would be interested. Other than that, the series is in pre-production with a projected release date of 2026.