Dumbledore's actor son questions: Why make a Harry Potter reboot?

Oscar-winning actor Richard Harris played Headmaster Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films until his death in 2002. His son, equally famous actor Jared Harris (who played Professor Moriarty in the American version of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), is currently being considered as one of the candidates to play Dumbledore in the reboot.

However, in a recent interview with The Independent, he said that not only was he not interested, he also completely didn't understand why HBO wanted to make a new reboot project.

"I mean, why would you do that? I don't understand. The movies are great - don't touch them," he said. However, he did reveal that the show, which will reportedly run for seven seasons - one for each novel - would give the opportunity to cover "a lot of storyline" that didn't appear in the films.

As for whether he would be willing to play Dumbledore? He replied: "No thanks."

The series will be produced by producer Francesca Gardiner, who has worked on HBO's "Succession" and "His Dark Materials". Another executive producer Mary Mylod, who also worked on "Succession", will also direct many episodes.

So far, Dumbledore has not been cast. After Richard Harris passed away, Michael Gambon played the role, but he also died in 2023. Later, Jude Law played the young Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts series. Garry Oldman, who played Sirius Black, recently joked that he is old enough to play Dumbledore.

The series is currently recruiting actors for the three main characters - Harry, Hermione and Ron. The series is scheduled to start filming next year and premiere in 2026.