Warwick Davis, star of the original Harry Potter movies, will once again play Professor Filius Flitwick in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
The announcement marks the first time that one of the original Harry Potter film actors has been confirmed as appearing in the upcoming TV adaptation.
Davis previously appeared in all eight Harry Potter films, released between 2001 and 2011, as well as a slew of Star Wars projects, and as the title character in Willow.
Today’s reveal is also accompanied by confirmations of seven other cast members set to appear in the upcoming series, including young actors Elijah Oshin as Dean Thomas, Finn Stephens as Vincent Crabbe and William Nash as Gregory Goyle, all other Hogwarts students.
Sirine Saba will play Professor Pomona Sprout, a role previously held by Miriam Margolyes. Richard Durden will appear as the ghostly Professor Cuthbert Binns, a character cut from the Harry Potter movies.
Finally, Bríd Brennan has been cast as Madam Poppy Pomfrey, while Leigh Gill will play Griphook.
Word of Davis’ return comes just days after comments critical of the project’s similarity to the previous films. Chris Columbus, who directed Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone, if you prefer) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, said he’d seen recent set photos and been left asking “what’s the point?”
“It’s interesting, as of yesterday there are photos of Nick Frost as Hagrid walking with the new Harry Potter,” Columbus said, “and he’s wearing the exact same costume that we designed for Hagrid!
“I thought the costumes, everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same,” the director continued. “It’s very flattering for me, because I’m like, that’s exactly the Hagrid costume that we designed. So, part of it is really exciting, I’m excited to see what they’re going to do with it. Part of it is sort of deja vu all over again.”
Previously-confirmed cast members for the Harry Potter HBO series include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essidu as Severus Snape and Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley. Sherlock actress Louise Brealey will be the series’ Quidditch teacher Madam Rolanda Hooch, while Game of Thrones’ Anton Lesser portrays legendary wandmaker Garrick Ollivander.
Last week, Sophie Turner, who began playing Sansa Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones aged just 13, offered some words of warning for Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton — the show’s young trio of actors set to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively — after saying that growing up in the spotlight “almost destroyed” her.
Filming on the series is now well underway, with production on the saga set to continue for much of the next decade. The first season is due to arrive on HBO in 2027.
Image credit: Kate Green/Getty Images
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
