Harry Potter TV Series Had Over 32,000 Children Audition for Lead Roles

After posting an open casting call for the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the team behind the Harry Potter HBO series has revealed that a whopping 32,000 children auditioned.

Dec 5, 2024 - 18:00

Harry Potter TV Series Had Over 32,000 Children Audition for Lead Roles

In September, HBO posted an open casting call to find its Harry, Ron, and Hermione for its upcoming Harry Potter TV series — and clearly, it's been pretty busy since then.

As reported by THR on Thursday, the series' showrunner Francesca Gardiner and executive producer Mark Mylod made a surprise appearance at a Max showcase in London, revealing a few details about the progress of the upcoming show. Unsurprisingly, the castings of Harry, Ron, and Hermione are of particular interest, and Mylod said a whopping 32,000 child actors have auditioned for the roles in the so-called golden trio, originally portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson.

That leaves the creative team with a lot of reviewing to do. According to Mylod, they plan to watch every audition, viewing between 500 and 1000 per day. He added that they haven't "made any final choices, but we’re workshopping with a shortlist in January."

Currently, the team's plan is to begin filming in Summer 2025. Outside of the main three kiddos, Gardiner revealed a few other details about their thoughts of the rest of the cast, aiming to stick to their canonical ages. Specifically, per the THR report, Gardiner pointed out that Lily and James Potter were 21 when they died, while Snape was in his 30s. It's worth noting that that's in line with the rumored casting of Severus Snape: Paapa Essiedu, who's currently 34.

Outside of Essiedu, the only other casting information we've gotten is who could potentially play Albus Dumbledore. According to a Variety article from November, Mark Rylance is "at the top of the casting wishlist" for the Hogwarts headmaster.

Along with revealing those details about the Harry Potter show, HBO chief Casey Bloys also addressed some of the controversy around it, specifically revolving around Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. After previously saying she's been "fairly involved" in the show's development, he added at the event, "I’m totally comfortable with it and I’m not worried about it. Look at the huge success of the Hogwarts video game last year. I’m not concerned about consumer response.”

The Harry Potter TV show, which has reportedly been in development since 2021, is said to be a "faithful adaptation" of Rowling's novels. It's been given a 10-year commitment by Warner Bros. and, while Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav previously said it's set to debut sometime in 2026, Bloys clarified more recently that it could premiere in early 2027.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.