The Harry Potter franchise is getting a reboot with a new TV series adaptation in the works at HBO. While most major characters have had their actors announced, it remains unclear who will be taking on the role of Voldemort, the big baddie of the story. There have long been rumors that Oscar winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) would be playing the new Voldemort, but for the fans hoping that will happen, don’t hold your breath.
Murphy sought to set the record straight on these rumors once and for all in a new interview with The Times. He was asked point blank if the rumors were true, and the actor insisted that they are not. He suggested that he’s more interested in playing your “average” person as opposed to outlandish characters like Voldemort, making it for the best that he’s not going to be the person taking on the role in the HBO show.
“I’m categorically not,” Murphy said about playing Voldemort. “Can you make that the headline? Being a personality is not what I am good at. But then existing in this world? Talking about yourself, going on f***ing red carpets? It’s not healthy if you start to believe this sh*t, and I’m really bad at it too… I’m an incredibly average person, really.”
Harry Potter may not be on the horizon, though fans won’t have to wait long to see Murphy back on the screen. He returns as Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, a movie sequel to the hit Peaky Blinders series that concluded in 2022. The film is slated to hit Netflix on March 20.
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As for the Harry Potter series, the new show is expected to debut on HBO in early 2027. Its cast includes Dominic McLaughlin in the titular role alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minverva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
