Harry Potter fans have gained their first glimpse of John Lithgow as Dumbledore, via a mysterious set of photos showing the long-bearded wizard on a beach.
Lithgow will play Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series, which will debut its first season in 2027. This week, the actor was spotted on a beach in Cornwall, in costume for the first time.
But the appearance has raised fresh questions for Potter fans, not least because the photos appear to show Dumbledore in a new scene not found in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone — the first novel in the series which the TV show is currently turning into its first season.
According to the Daily Mail, Lithgow was seen by fans walking in the sea, then holding his wrist and looking in pain. Images also show large cue cards with latin words, including the phrase “Murus cadat, via pateat.” IGN has translated this to: “Let the wall fall, let the way be clear.”
Potter fans will know of a famous sequence with Dumbledore entering a beachside cave, as he and a teenage Harry hunt Horcruxes. But this doesn’t take place until Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, the series’ penultimate novel, and there’s no reason the series would skip ahead to film this now, rather than in five years’ time. Dumbledore also doesn’t speak this phrase at any point. So what’s going on here?
Fans have a few theories, including the suggestion this scene is set during the point where Dumbledore is lured away from Hogwarts so Voldemort can engineer a moment to try and steal the Sorcerer’s/Philospher’s Stone. In the book, Dumbledore simply vanishes off-screen for several chapters — perhaps the TV series will now chronicle where he goes?
I’m speechless. John Lithgow as Dumbledore is already perfect. pic.twitter.com/aAl5LawR6g
— Wizarding World Direct (@WW_Direct) October 8, 2025
In the book, Dumbledore says he’s summoned to London by the Ministry of Magic, though it’s never stated exactly what he’s told to make him leave so urgently, or exactly where he ends up. While Dumbledore is clearly not in London while at the beach, could the TV show tweak this plotline to have him given a false lead on Voldemort’s location, with the beach a clever tie-in to the hidden cave seen later in the series?
Another, potentially more straightforward, explanation is that this sequence is tied to new scenes showing one of Dumbledore’s visits to Nicholas Flamel, the headmaster’s friend and owner of the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone. Flamel is a character who remains off-screen during the original Harry Potter books and movies, but who Dumbledore repeatedly discusses going to see.
Fans think Dumbledore’s beach sequence could be revealing where the Stone was kept by Flamel prior to its move to Hogwarts, and indeed, Lithgow was also spotted this week on location, filming scenes with Flamel.
Better look at Dumbledore, Perenelle and Nicolas Flamel in the HARRY POTTER TV series
(Credit to SWNS) pic.twitter.com/4XTmyNPBGJ
— Wizarding World Direct (@WW_Direct) October 9, 2025
Regardless of what this sequence ends up being, it’s a reveal for fans not just of Lithgow himself, but of the fact the Harry Potter TV show will include never-before-seen moments from the overall saga, with extra room for these due to its ability to spread each novel’s events over a full TV season.
Last month, reports revealed the level of secrecy demanded by Warner Bros. in order to keep the series’ production secrets under wraps. The Harry Potter TV series is currently using production codenames, disappearing text messages and has deployed a mobile phone ban while actors and crew are on set.
Lithgow’s casting as Albus Dumbledore was announced by the actor earlier this year, followed by word that Nick Frost will play Hagrid, Paapa Essidu is Severus Snape, while Katherine Parkinson is Molly Weasley.
Image credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
