More than 32,000 kids have auditioned for HBO’s Harry Potter reboot

A huge 32,000 children have auditioned for HBO’s Harry Potter reboot, showrunner Francesca Gardiner shared.

Deadline reported that Gardiner shared the impressive figure during this month’s Max Showcase in London, with hordes of youngsters hoping to emulate Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

The process to find children to play Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger has been ongoing for months, after the reboot’s casting director Lucy Bevan published an open callout asking for children aged between nine and 11 as of April 2025 who are residents of the UK and Ireland.

In the initial round, candidates were asked to submit two videos. In the first, they’d be performing a short story or poem, while in the second, they’d be talking about themselves as well as a family member, friend, or pet.

Now, it’s thought that Bevan and her team have begun chemistry reads with some of the budding actors, as Deadline is told that the children progressing through the rounds are in various stages of recall – and a decision on casting is expected soon.

Gardiner said at the Max Showcase that the team were getting through up to 1,000 tapes a day to find “some of the finest cream of British talent,” with sources telling Deadline that casting executives can get through tapes quickly, often deciding within a minute whether they want to send someone through to the next round.

More news regarding the adult cast is expected to arrive reasonably soon, before shooting begins at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden – where the original movies were also filmed – over the summer. Fans have discussed the possibility of Cillian Murphy playing Voldemort, with Ralph Fiennes backing the Oppenheimer star for the role, too, while it’s been reported that Mark Rylance is the favourite to play Dumbledore and Paapa Essiedu is in talks to play Severus Snape.

Meanwhile, costume designer Holly Waddington, best known for her work on Poor Things, has been enlisted to work on Harry Potter too.

It’s also been reported that VFX studio Framestone is in talks to work on the upcoming series, while Josephine Gardiner, Andy Greenwald and Killing Eve writer Laura Neal are set to be involved, and Mark Mylod will be directing multiple episodes.

Meanwhile, we found out earlier this month that the series has been pushed back until 2027. Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming chief JB Perrette said of the decision: “As you look at ’26 and into ’27, you begin a 10-year journey on the Harry Potter series, which we’re super excited about. And I’d argue, may be the biggest event by the time we get to that series.”

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