First images of Harry Potter's new Dumbledore leak online

Despite the numerous controversies surrounding the property and its creator, J.K. Rowling, the production for HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series is well underway. Whereas other more recent attempts to expand Rowling’s Wizarding World have come in the form of extensions of the original novels and films, such as the stage-play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child or the maligned Fantastic Beasts prequels, this new TV show has opted to instead return directly to the source material and serve as a new adaptation of the books. As such, it will recast iconic characters, and thanks to new leaked images, we have our first look at one of them: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore.

These images come courtesy of local news source Cornwall Live, which is keeping its eyes on the show's filming on location in Cornwall, England. Here's Lithgow on a beach:

While other roles, such as the core trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione or potions professor Severus Snape, had far more definitive performers in the original films — and thus made recasting that much more difficult and essential for HBO and Warner Bros. to get ahead of with various promotional materials — Dumbledore is something of a unique oddity. This is partially due to the fact that even in the original movies, the character was played by multiple actors. When the character debuted in Chris Columbus’ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he was played by Richard Harris. Harris remained in the role for the immediate follow-up Chamber of Secrets, but would ultimately pass away before the filming of the third film.

As such, he was replaced by Michael Gambon in The Prisoner of Azkaban, who would remain in the role for the remainder of the initial series. Notably, while Gambon’s work was praised by many fans, there was a strong contingent of book fans who felt the actor’s portrayal of the character was a bit off-base, specifically in terms of how emotionally volatile he could be. This dissatisfaction would only be amplified when Jude Law was cast as a younger Dumbledore in the Fantastic Beasts films, and was roundly praised as the best onscreen iteration of the character despite the putrid quality of the films themselves.

Thus, Dumbledore has had a far more fluid and flexible journey on the big screen than many of the other characters in the franchise. John Lithgow is a great actor and has been for decades, so there’s little doubt that he’ll be able to bring something unique to the part, but the chief thing that these leaked set pictures reiterate is that the new show is remaining exceedingly faithful to the established aesthetic and tone of the movies. Upon seeing pictures of Nick Frost as Hagrid, even original movie director Chris Columbus was forced to ask, “What’s the point?” and one can’t help but echo those sentiments here. Lithgow certainly looks like Richard Harris’ Dumbledore in these images, but if that is really the goal, then what exactly is the point?