The Harry Potter TV series at Warner Bros. has been in the works for quite some time. They’ve picked out a writer and are now in the weeds of casting. One such role that’s pretty important is that of Albus Dumbledore. Variety is reporting that actor Mark Rylance is at the top of the casting wishlist for the role. Rylance is currently starring in the BBC period drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and The Light. They’re also reporting that this is currently a wishlist item and not actual negotiations between the two sides just yet.
Variety states that the three leads Harry, Hermione, and Ron will likely be fresh faces on the scene, they want to populate the adults in the series with some of the UK’s best-known actors, just like the movies did. The original films featured performances from Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, and Alan Rickman, among plenty of other heavy hitters.
The ony thing that throws a wrench in the plans is that they do plan on having a potential SEVEN seasons (one for each book). For comparison, Harris was 70 when he took on the role of Dumbledore and he passed away two years later, forcing the studio to recast with Michael Gambon for the remainder of the series. Rylance is 64 years old.
Harris famously turned down the role three separate times before he was persuaded by his granddaughter. Here’s what he told the Guardian.
“All I knew is that they kept offering me the part and raising the salary every time they called. I kept turning it down. Anyone involved has to agree to be in the sequels, all of them, and that’s not how I wanted to spend the last years of my life, so I said no over and over again.”
Who Is Mark Rylance? And Our Take On The Harry Potter Casting Rumor
Mark Rylance is a fantastic actor. He won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 2016 for his work in the Spielberg film Bridge of Spies. He has also worked with Spielberg on The BFG. Rylance starred in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk in a stunningly emotional performance. He’s also been in films like The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Don’t Look Up.
This is only the beginning of what’s likely to be a long casting process for the Harry Potter series. The show was announced back in 2023 and Warner Bros. TV is promising that it’ll be deeper than anything a two-hour movie can do. It should premiere in 2026.
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Source: Variety
