Harry Potter TV Series Casts 9 Actors (& There Are Some Big Differences From the Movies)

HBO announced nine new cast members for its Harry Potter reboot series on Monday, including the two families that make Harry’s life difficult most often — the Dursleys and the Malfoys. Daniel Rigby will play Uncle Vernon Dursley while Bel Powley will play Harry’s maternal Aunt Petunia. Lox Pratt has been cast as Harry’s school rival Draco Malfoy, and Johnny Flynn as Draco’s father, Lucius. The network also announced that Katherine Parkinson will play Molly Weasley, and Bertie Carvel will play the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Three of Harry’s classmates were announced as well — Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, and Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown.

The Harry Potter remake is taking shape, and for this series, that starts with the most comical antagonists. Petunia is the Muggle sister of Harry’s mother, and he is raised by her and her husband, Vernon. Both are uptight snobs in a way that is often played for laughs in the books and the movies, though their abusive treatment of Harry also has real and profound effects on him. Powley and Rigby are notably more faithful to the original novels than their movie counterparts, are they are younger — closer to the ages implied by the books’ timeline.

Meanwhile, it’s no surprise to see Draco cast here, as he is introduced early and figures heavily in the story — especially if the TV show intends to adapt the “Midnight Duel” chapter that was left out of the movie. It’s a little more surprising to see Lucius announced so soon, as he is not introduced until the second book. We may simply get a glimpse of him dropping his son off at the train station, or the show may be setting him up sooner. Either way, Pratt and Flynn are a great duo for these roles, with the right look and enough shared features to play these haughty wizards.

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Parkinson has the red hair most essential to playing the Weasley matriarch, and commenters online are clearly excited to meet this fan-favorite at last. Parkinson also highlights the show’s commitment to more accurately aging these characters. In the books, both Lily and Petunia had children young, and were consequently very young parents to Harry and Dudley. However, Molly Weasley is enrolling her sixth son in Hogwarts when the story starts, so it makes sense that she’s about a decade older than the Dursleys.

The Harry Potter remake is in production now, and is expected to premiere sometime in 2026. Its cast is filling out fast now — Harry will be played by Dominic McLaughlin, Hermione will be played by Arabella Stanton, and Ron will be played by Alastair Stout. The series will premiere on HBO and HBO Max, but an exact release date has not been announced yet. In the meantime, the movies are streaming now on Max.