Harry Potter Reboot’s Voldemort Casting Addressed By Original Star (Did He Just Spoil His Replacement?)

One of the most important characters for the upcoming Harry Potter HBO Max series is who the network casts to play Lord Voldemort. There hasn’t been any news on that yet, since Voldemort doesn’t officially show up until the fourth book in the series, so it is around five years away. However, fans are speculating on who might be best for the role, especially after the casting news surrounding the three main kids and the casting of Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. However, while there has been no news, it seems that the role of Lord Voldemort, He Who Shall Not Be Named, has already been cast.

Ralph Fiennes was in a video interview shared on Instagram (via The Direct) where he was asked about who he thinks should play Lord Voldemort in the HBO Max reboot of the franchise. “Well, I’m told they’re already filled, aren’t they?” Fiennes said. “I’ve already said I think Cillian Murphy is very good. A very, very good choice. I think they’ve cast it, haven’t they? I don’t know, I thought they had.”

This comes while Fiennes is promoting his new movie, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which ended with Cillian Murphy making his return to the franchise at the movie’s end, setting up the next film in the franchise. However, this also follows an interview where Murphy said he didn’t know about the role. “I don’t know anything about that,” Murphy said. “I mean, also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So, good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes.”

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While it sounds like Cillian Murphy has clarified he isn’t playing Lord Voldemort, it is also important to remember that actors lie all the time. They all sign NDAs, and they often deny being in any major franchise movie until they are allowed to actually admit to it. On the other hand, someone like Ralph Fiennes is not signed to any NDA since he isn’t part of the film, so if he heard something, he is under no requirement to hide what he knows.

That said, Fiennes did leave the door open to the idea that he “thinks” this is what happened, as he left enough room to clarify that he might not know for sure and that he could be wrong. If it does end up being true, Cillian Murphy could be a great Lord Voldemort. He has been in blockbusters before, taking part in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies as Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow. There is also 28 Days Later, although he hasn’t been in that for two decades until his return at the end of Bone Temple. The important thing to remember is that no casting news is accurate until HBO announces it.

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