Harry Potter TV series adds Poor Things’ Oscar-winning Holly Waddington as the costume designer

Last Updated on December 9, 2024

The Harry Potter HBO series continues to shape up. The latest big-budget Harry Potter project has thousands of young actors looking to land the roles of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 32,000, to be exact. The series’ production says it’s adhering to the “canonical” ages of specific characters. Still, others are likely to change, including the Dursleys, who will be younger in the show. Gardiner says the cast will experience a “bigger sandpit to play in” when her Harry Potter TV series begins. Now, according to Deadline, the new adaptation has added the Academy Award-winning costume designer of Emma Stone’s Poor Things, Holly Waddington. Her work from that film would also earn her wins from the BAFTA and the Costume Designers Guild Awards. Prior to Poor Things, Waddington credits included the well-received Florence Pugh starrer Lady Macbeth back in 2016, for which she won a BIFA. Additionally, her credits as assistant costume designer include Spielberg films Lincoln and War Horse, and she was costume designer on one episode of Hulu series The Great.

There’s been no official casting on the Harry Potter TV series yet, but Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) is said to be close to signing on to play Albus Dumbledore. The casting process for the three leading kids has begun. An open call was put out for children who are residents of the U.K. and Ireland and will be between the ages of 9 and 11 in April 2025 to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Succession’s Francesca Gardiner will serve as a writer and showrunner on the series, while Mark Mylod signed on to executive produce and direct multiple episodes. The project was originally developed for Max but made the leap to HBO (along with various other Max shows) in June.

It was said recently that HBO is considering Paapa Essiedu for the role of Professor Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series. The outlet’s sources say the actor has already been offered the part, but it’s unclear if negotiations have begun.

HBO wouldn’t confirm or deny, but did release a statement: “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.” If Essiedu does take on the role, he will be stepping into the shoes of the late Alan Rickman, who brought the devious potions master to life in the Harry Potter movies.