After several years mired in controversy and other kinds of fan reactions, HBO has finally revealed the main cast for its Harry Potter TV series. The main trio is finally here, and the children actually look fitting for their roles, considering they fall within the 9 to 11-year-old age bracket. That age bracket, however, presents yet another problem for the Harry Potter series: it’s produced by HBO.
Before we get to the potential problem I’m pointing out, we do have to acknowledge the casting for the main trio. Dominic McLaughlin will be Harry, Arabella Stanton will play Hermione Granger, and finally, Alastair Stout will play Ron Weasley. HBO also released a teaser for the trio with the actors all crouching on the grass.
HBO is great, of course. It’s one of the most established studios in the industry. Except recently (and post-pandemic), HBO has developed a habit of staggering its seasonal releases. On average, the gap between HBO show seasons has taken as long as two years, most notably on the huge franchises they adapted, such as House of the Dragon and The Last of Us.
It appears the HBO trend is here to stay since The Last of Us Season 3 is rumored to have a 2027 release date (Season 1 was 2023, Season 2 was 2025). Meanwhile, there are also rumors that House of the Dragon might get pushed to 2027 or three years after the premiere of its 2nd Season. By comparison, Game of Thrones seasons were released yearly (save for Season 8, but we don’t talk about that).
Will Harry Potter Actors Outgrow HBO?
For House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, the 2-year gap isn’t much of a huge issue since most of the actors in the two shows are adults already. The upcoming Harry Potter, on the other hand, might just run into the same issue as Netflix’s Stranger Things, where they took too long, and the “small town show about nerdy kids” turned into a teen drama.
Granted, Harry Potter was already a teen drama midway through (by book 4). However, the first three books/movies/or seasons are crucial in building that innocent, childlike magic that Harry Potter franchise has been known for. It made the main trio and even the whole of Hogwarts more endearing after seeing the actors grow up gradually, year by year.
If HBO continues its usual release schedule for Harry Potter, I fear that we’ll be seeing lopsided actor heights, forced makeup, and voices that don’t sound right for the age they’re portraying. It’s not the child actors’ fault, of course. You can’t stop puberty, but it’s not the same situation as Stranger Things, where they tweaked the story for teenagers once the actors had grown up. Harry Potter has a strict roadmap.
As a longtime fan, I believe that Harry Potter‘s most crucial build-up and signature atmosphere happened in the first three books when the trio didn’t worry about crushes and proms (as amusing as those are to watch). I can only hope that HBO doesn’t squander the talent of the child actors they chose for the Harry Potter series.
