We may be a little closer to finding out who will bring life to Voldemort in HBO's Harry Potter series.
Most of the principal characters have already been cast at this stage, but a recent rumor claimed that a voice actor would be utilised for the sinister villain in the first season of the show. If accurate, this would seem to suggest that we won't actually get to see Voldemort's physical form until season 2, and HBO might just be looking at a fan-favorite pick for the role.
According to scooper Daniel Richtman, Paul Bettany (WandaVision, Legion) is HBO's top choice to play Voldemort.
Bettany plays Vision in the MCU, and will soon reprise the role for the Disney+ VisionQuest series. He is also expected to appear in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Cillian Murphy has long been rumored to be in line to play the all-powerful dark wizard, but the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man star recently put an end to the speculation once and for all.
"I’m categorically not [playing Voldemort]," Murphy told The Times. "Can you make that the headline?"
Harry Potter's principal cast includes Dominic McLaughlin as the titular Boy Wizard, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch.
Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve) is on board as showrunner and executive producer, with Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) enlisted as executive producer and director of multiple episodes.
The show's official logline reads: "The series will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail and much-loved characters Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years."
"Each season will bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and cherished films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."
Warner Bros. TV boss Channing Dungey said that the series will be “more in-depth than you can in just a two-hour film… that’s the whole reason we’re on this journey.”