Given that there are already seven books, eight main movies, three spinoff movies, over a dozen video games, an amusement park, and enough fan fiction to keep you occupied for the rest of your life, it remains surprising that HBO is really committed to making its Harry Potter TV show. The network wasn’t just having a laugh when it said that John Lithgow was going to be playing Dumbledore. That was serious. Things are getting even more real, now that HBO announced on Tuesday that it’s found its main trio.
Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Alastair Stout will be Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton is Hermione Granger. They are all very cute, and Stout has red hair, which I believe were the only casting requirements. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson have all spoken about how comfortable and protected they felt starring in the movies, so hopefully these new children feel the same. Unfortunately for them, they’re coming into a slightly more fraught situation than their predecessors. Not only is there all of the controversy surrounding Harry Potter’s creator and the HBO series’ executive producer J.K. Rowling and her transphobia, but fan reactions to previous casting updates haven’t been amazing. In response to news that Paapa Essiedu would be playing Snape, HBO’s Instagram comments were filled with die-hard Potter fans insisting that the fake wizard character from their children’s fantasy book had to be a white guy. (This time around, HBO turned off the comments.)
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Perhaps in an effort to bring some truthfulness to their performances, Stanton, the new Hermione, is the most experienced actor out of the three. She spent a year doing Matilda on the West End, while McLaughlin and Stout are newcomers. “The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen,” showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod said in a statement. Best of luck to these kids.
