HBO‘s series reimagining of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is in full swing, and today brings a first look at John Lithgow’s Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
In the images posted by A Shot II on Facebook, John Lithgow’s Dumbledore walks along a water-tinged beachfront, his tattered dark blue robes levitating just above the sand, his long, white beard gently blowing in the breeze. On Lithgow’s face sits a fragile pair of spectacles while sizable rings adorn the pinkie and ring finger of his right hand. Oddly, Lithgow has something of a pained look on his wisened face. Then again, Dumbledore is old, and walking along the shore is not his ideal way to travel.
HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series “will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max where it’s available, including in upcoming launch markets Germany, Italy, and the UK.”
The reimagined Harry Potter series stars John Lithgow and Proffesor Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as his father Lucius Malfoy, Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby as Petunia Dursley and Vernon Dursley, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley. As Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, we have Bertie Carvel. As Hogwarts students Seamus Finnigan, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown, the show has cast newcomers Leo Earley, Alessia Leoni, and Sienna Moosah. Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout star as Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch, Anton Lesser as Garrick Ollivander, Tristan and Gabriel Harland will play Fred and George Weasley, with Ruari Spooner as Percy Weasley and Gracie Cochrane as Ginny Weasley.
Each season of the Harry Potter TV series is said to cover one of J.K. Rowling’s novels, for a total of seven seasons. While the movies were able to fit quite a lot in, there were plenty of moments cut from the novels that the TV series will finally be able to bring to life. Last year, HBO released a statement saying, “Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally.” The first season will be filming for ten months and is expected to consist of either eight or six episodes. The series is said to be, like the novels, set in the 1990s.
The synopsis for the show says, “The franchise follows the life of a young wizard, the titular Harry Potter, whose parents died under mysterious circumstances when he was very young. He was forced to live a life of misery and servitude to his aunt and uncle and their awful son before he was freed from his gilded cage when Hagrid extended an invitation that changed his life forever. The adventure begins as Harry and his magical friends Ron and Hermoine become students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who come of age in a time of extreme turmoil where the threat of war looms close.”
What do you think about John Lithgow’s look for Professor Dumbledore? Let us know in the comments section below.
