HBO Tries To Bring Harry Potter Magic Back With Giant Casting Call
At times, it seems like Harry Potter is a franchise cursed by Voldemort himself: after conquering both the literary world and Hollywood, it seemed like the franchise had nowhere to go but up. But the failure of the Fantastic Beasts spinoff movies along with author J.K. Rowling’s increasingly unhinged behavior on social media have threatened to put the adventures of The Boy Who Lived firmly in the rearview mirror of our collective pop culture memory. Now, with a new Harry Potter television show on the horizon, HBO is trying to get the magic back with an open casting call for Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Age Is An Important Factor
Regarding the casting call for this iconic trio of Harry Potter characters, the network is committed to getting actors with the right age and background. Specifically, they are looking for children who will be between the ages of 9 to 11 by April 2025. The show will be adapting the books from the very beginning, so (as with the earlier films) it is important to cast young characters who will naturally age along with their characters.
Encouraging Diversity
Additionally, these prospective Harry Potter actors need to be residents of either the U.K. or Ireland, though HBO is otherwise keeping a very open mind regarding casting. The casting call notes how the network is “committed to inclusive, diverse casting.” This is a fairly boilerplate statement from the network, but it could serve as a broad hint that the new performers may potentially be very different from the original ones (like when Black actor Noma Dumezweni was cast as Hermione for the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child).
Audition Tape Ground Rules
Speaking of diversity, the network is encouraging would-be actors to submit an audition tapes where performers share a story or poem “from your favourite book, a poem that you love, a monologue from a play or something you’ve created yourself.” The actors are limited to 30 seconds for this particular performance. Additionally, they can’t submit anything related to Harry Potter, as HBO wants to get a clearer idea of who these actors are outside the context of Rowling’s universe.
To that end, the casting call also requires performers to submit a second tape where they describe themselves, including basic biographical data like age and height. This video is also meant to include details about where the actor would like to live and a description of “any family member, friend, or pet” they “are particularly close to.” This second Harry Potter audition tape must feature the actor’s natural accent, and the entire thing is limited to one minute.
The Audition Timeline
The chance to star in a Harry Potter series is certainly the opportunity of a lifetime for ambitious young actors, but any children who are interested should know that HBO is operating on a very tight time-frame. Audition tapes must be submitted by October 31 because the network is interested in filming the show across 2025 and 2026. The series does not yet have a firm release date, though Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav mentioned back in February that HBO is hoping to release the show in 2026.
A Potential New Hit Franchise In The Making
In this case, the sooner it releases, the better: if the new Harry Potter series ends up becoming a hit, it could transform the careers of the performers involved just as Game of Thrones did for its talented cast. But if this franchise continues to lose its luster in the next year or so, the new series could be dead on arrival quicker than you can say “Avada Kedavra.” If that should happen, no force in the world (even the Resurrection Stone) will be able to make this sprawling world feels as magical–or as relevant–as it once did.
Source: Variety
