HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Considering Casting a Female Voldemort

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HBO’s Harry Potter remake has not even started filming, and it is already stirring controversy over how far studios will go in rewriting beloved stories. A new report from industry scooper Daniel Richtman claims that the series could feature a female actor as Lord Voldemort. Casting calls have reportedly gone out to both men and women for the role of the Dark Lord, a decision that signals yet another break from the material fans actually know.

Voldemort was brought memorably to the screen by Ralph Fiennes in the Warner Bros. films, and the character’s history in J.K. Rowling’s books is rooted in a male identity. Altering that for the sake of novelty risks alienating the core audience that made the franchise a global powerhouse. Yet this is the direction modern studios seem intent on taking, bending canon to fit new visions rather than respecting what was already established. For fans who are tired of watching Hollywood tinker with the lore of every property it touches, the possibility of rewriting Voldemort is just the latest example.

No final decision has been made, and HBO has remained silent on the casting reports. Still, this comes shortly after the controversial choice of Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape. That move already had audiences questioning how much the new series plans to diverge from the source material.

The rest of the cast points to a strategy of mixing relative newcomers with seasoned names. Dominic McLaughlin is set to play Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton will take on Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout will portray Ron Weasley. Veteran actor John Lithgow has been cast as Albus Dumbledore, giving the series some recognizable star power. Warwick Davis will reprise his role as Professor Flitwick, one of the few links left intact from the earlier films.

The series is expected to arrive in 2027 on HBO and Max, with international rollouts in countries including Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Francesca Gardiner is leading the writing, while Mark Mylod directs multiple episodes. J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, Ruth Kenley-Letts, and David Heyman are attached as executive producers.

The project is being billed as a faithful retelling, but the early choices suggest otherwise. Changing Voldemort’s identity would be far more than a casting adjustment. It would alter the framework of one of fiction’s most defining villains. For many fans already disillusioned with the trend of rewriting characters for modern adaptations, HBO’s decision-making may prove as controversial as any storyline it puts on screen.

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