Harry Potter Reboot’s Voldemort Casting Gets Update From HBO Boss Amid Rumors

HBO CEO Casey Bloys revealed a brand-new update about the casting process for Voldemort in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series and responded to the rumors that keep popping up online.

While Voldemort doesn’t get properly introduced until Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when he regains his body, the character’s face is seen in the first book on the back of Professor Quirrell’s head. In the $7.7 billion movie adaptations, Richard Bremmer portrayed Voldemort in the first film, while Ralph Fiennes played the villain from Goblet of Fire onward.

Even though HBO’s Harry Potter reboot has hired numerous cast members for the series, one of the few that haven’t been announced yet is Voldemort. During an interview with Variety, Bloys revealed that an actor has not been cast as the infamous villain yet. “I don’t even know who we’re casting,” he admitted.

The HBO chair also said that fans should take any and all Voldemort casting rumors they see online “with a grain of salt.”

“No, we have not. As a rule, I would say any rumors – don’t [believe them]. I don’t even know who we’re casting. I really don’t! I would take everything you read with a grain of salt.”

Various famous names have been speculated about over the past several months, including Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany and even Tilda Swinton. Some of these actors have spoken out to debunk the rumors, with Murphy categorically denying he’s been cast and Bettany saying that nobody from Warner Bros. or HBO has called him to express interest.

Fiennes previously said that Murphy would be a great choice to play Voldemort.

It’s unknown at this point whether HBO will follow a similar strategy that the films took, in which a different actor plays the villain in Sorcerer’s Stone before a Fiennes-like actor steps in for the back half of the series.

The movies only had around two to three hours to adapt each novel. The upcoming Harry Potter TV show remake will be able to show many more scenes that never made the cut on the big screen, expand key moments and foreshadow what’s to come.

When it comes to Voldemort, aside from appearing on the back of Quirrell’s head, Voldemort might also be seen via flashbacks, specifically the night that he went to Godric’s Hollow to kill Harry Potter’s parents, Lily and James Potter, on Halloween.

Last fall, set photos showed a Godrick’s Hollow scene being filmed, with kids in Halloween costumes roaming the streets as they went trick-or-treating.

The Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone film very briefly showed a flashback of the moment Voldemort killed the Potters, but the set photos indicate that fateful night will be explored further on the TV show, though it’s still unknown if Voldemort will be seen on screen.

Even though Voldemort hasn’t been cast yet, Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton are currently filming the eight-episode first season as they succeed Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson in the roles of Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively. Other Harry Potter cast members include John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu and Nick Frost.

Showrunner Francesca Gardiner is bringing the magical story to life on the small screen alongside fellow executive producers J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, Mark Mylod and David Heyman.

Harry Potter isn’t expected to premiere until Christmas 2026, but just this week, HBO released a photo showing Harry in his Quidditch robes as he walks to the pitch for a game, as well as a teaser trailer.