More than 30,000 were called but finally, three were chosen. As the cast for HBO’s forthcoming serialised adaptation of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter stories is finalised, Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger) and Alastair Stout (Ron Weasley) are the three young stars who find themselves perched precariously on the acting equivalent of Platform 9¾, preparing to launch themselves into a life-defining adventure. Look at their little faces! So young, so earnest, so expectant. Let’s hope that the fearlessness of youth burns strongly within them. Because from an adult perspective, it’s impossible not to feel utterly terrified on their behalf.
These three kids might look like a breath of fresh air but the atmosphere in the world they are about to enter is heavy; clogged with layers of history, controversy, commercial pressure and precedents that are both intimidatingly successful (the books, the films) and worryingly underwhelming (the doomed spin-off movie series Fantastic Beasts). The question must be: why do this at all? After all, there are so many really good reasons not to.
According to HBO, this series is set to be a “faithful adaptation” of the books. Casual observers will probably have regarded the films as largely fulfilling that brief. There may be gaps in various backstories that can be fleshed out but too much information is a dangerous thing for a TV series. Balancing the niche desires of the fandom and the less exacting but probably more fickle tastes of the majority is going to be tricky. It’s likely that exhaustive detail will win the day: after all, brevity isn’t usually a virtue in the modern TV era and the series is projected to have a 10-year lifespan. That’s a whole lot of Potter.
Which brings us back to those pre-adolescent leads. The money will, of course, soften any blows but being cast in these parts might just be the ultimate Monkey’s Paw outcome. Picture yourself at 10 and then again, aged 20. Let’s just say that the appeal of being a boy wizard on the TV – let alone his strawberry blond wingman – might, at some point during that often awkward period of personal growth, be subject to fluctuation. Even if the trio are handled with the utmost care, it’s going to be a lot for them to deal with.
Arabella Stanton will probably be fine – after all, she already seems to be a surprisingly seasoned performer having starred in two West End musicals including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of Starlight Express, while boasting sidelines in (deep breath) hockey, horse riding, skiing, swimming, triathlons and playing the clarinet. In the context of that schedule, what difference does a decade-long commitment to a high-profile HBO drama make? Spare a thought, though, for Alastair Stout, whose only prior experience in the public eye is an advert for Jersey Royal potatoes.
Still, at least JK Rowling is happy. “All three are wonderful,” she tweeted. “I couldn’t be happier.” Which brings us to another problem. It would be lovely not to have to consider the increasingly Voldemort-like presence of Rowling in British public life. But consider it we must – the discourse surrounding trans rights and Rowling’s baleful centrality to it isn’t going to go away. Accordingly, there is absolutely no chance that the figure of Rowling, basking on her superyacht, cigar in mouth, tweeting fingers flexing, isn’t going to loom over the whole production. And as such, it’s impossible to imagine that the new cast (including the blameless children leading it) aren’t going to be asked about this stuff. Presumably, the kids will be guided through this situation, up to a point. But really, how do you media train an 11-year-old for that?
So, the leading trio will need to be granted time and patience. They may not get it. The problem is, there’s such a tiny landing zone of success for this project. Change too much and the showrunners will be accused of abandoning the spirit of the books. Change too little and people are just going to shrug and watch the films again. Everything about the original films felt definitive. Will it ever not?
Nick Frost is well cast as Hagrid. But he’s no Robbie Coltrane. And the knives are already out for Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape). Is he simply being punished for the crime of not being Alan Rickman? Or could it be something more insidious? Maybe the creators should have leaned into the tiresomely inevitable dissent around this casting and gone full colour blind? Even casting a female lead (Harriet Potter and the Painfully Ironic Gender Fluidity?) might have been an interesting point of difference. Still, given the size of the budget (a jaw-dropping $1.3bn has apparently already been spent on development), risk-taking was probably too much to ask for. HBO literally can’t afford for this to fail.
Still, the Potterverse is vast and still expanding. It’s a world that can accommodate everything from branded Quidditch slippers to an impossibly complex, wizarding-themed baking show on Prime Video. Does it have room for three more bright-eyed children at the heart of its mythos? We will soon find out. But if the kids needed reminding that they are central to one of the biggest TV gambles of the century to date, Potter stans have already found Alastair Stout’s potato advert on YouTube and inundated the comment section with effusive, mildly unnerving well-wishes. Welcome to your new world, Alastair, and the best of luck to all three of you. You’re going to need it.
