Longtime Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has weighed in on the franchise’s future, revealing his thoughts and first interactionwith Dominic McLaughlin, the newcomer chosen to bring “The Boy Who Lived” to life in HBO Max’s upcoming reboot.
Appearing on GMA to promote his role in the upcoming Broadway play, Every Brilliant Thing, Radcliffe stated, " I know a few people who are working on the production so I wrote to Domininic and sent him a letter and he sent me a very sweet note back, and I just want to say that I don't want to be a spectre in the lives of these children but I just wanted to write to him to say, 'I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did — I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better time.' And I do."
"I just see these pictures of him and the other kids and I just want to hug them. They just seem so young. I just look at them and say, ‘Oh it’s crazy I was doing that at that age.’ But it’s also incredibly sweet and I hope they’re having a great time."
Daniel Radcliffe landed the role of Harry Potter on August 21, 2000, when he was just 11 years old, after director Chris Columbus spotted him in the BBC’s adaptation of David Copperfield.
In a fitting twist of history, Dominic McLaughlin, also 11, was announced as the new Harry Potter in May 2025.
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Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials), the showrunner of the upcoming reboot, wrote the pilot. It's unclear who wrote the second episode.
The new live-action Harry Potter TV series is expected to debut in 2026.
Most of the attention right now is on the upcoming Harry Potter television remake for HBO Max. Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials), is the showrunner of the upcoming reboot and also wrote the pilot.
Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton will step into the legendary roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, respectively.
They'll be joined by an impressive supporting cast: John Lithgow will portray Albus Dumbledore, Essiedu as Snape, Janet McTeer will play Professor McGonagall, Nick Frost joins as Hagrid, Luke Thallon as Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse as Filch.
Though a release date has not yet been confirmed, HBO is assuring fans that this adaptation will remain deeply loyal to J.K. Rowling’s original book series. Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content, emphasized that the show will embrace the full depth and richness of the source material.
“With a devoted creative team, we’ll finally be able to explore the depth and detail of these beloved stories through the long-form storytelling that television makes possible,” Bloys shared in a press statement.
More recently, series author J.K. Rowling revealed that she is very pleased with how things are progressing on the HBO adaptation, writing on social media, "“I read the first two episodes of the forthcoming HBO Harry Potter series and they are SO, SO, SO GOOD!.
When fans asked if she would be writing any of the episodes herself, Rowling replied, "No, but I’ve worked closely with the extremely talented writers."