Since taking the reigns in 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has made a method of dusting off some of the studio's most accomplished franchises for new audiences. However, while other rebooted efforts, such as James Gunn’s Superman or the impending Andy Serkis-directed and Peter Jackson-produced The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, have seen talented filmmakers tackling these properties from new angles, the new HBO Harry Potter series appears to be a painstaking retread of author J.K. Rowling’s books and the pre-existing film series.
This has been such a universally shared opinion of fans and onlookers alike that even original Harry Potter director Christopher Columbus asked, “What’s the point?” But if a new scoop is to be believed, the series may indeed have a few surprises left up its sleeve, as allegedly, the new show may very well have a female Voldemort at its center.
According to reliable scooper Daniel Richtman, HBO is "auditioning both men and women for Voldemort so it’s possible we could see a female Voldemort in the Harry Potter series."
This is especially of note given the level of secrecy that has surrounded the role of He Who Shall Not Be Named up until this point. While other casting decisions were announced publicly for the already in-production series, the role of Voldemort has remained conspicuously absent from all press materials. Earlier this year, rumors swirled that this was a deliberate choice, and that even though the antagonistic part had already been cast, the series was striving to keep the actor portraying the role under wraps until their big dramatic reveal in the series proper.
Given that the HBO Harry Potter series is devoting an entire season of television to each novel in Rowling’s series, it does give the show more time to delve into the minutia of their writing. Also, while the first film in the movie series was obviously made with the intent of allotting for sequels, there was no guarantee that those plans would see fruition. As such, certain elements, such as the casting of Voldemort, wasn’t planned out that far in advance, with Ralph Fiennes not actually joining the cast until several years later with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, despite the character’s inclusion in the first two films.
However, the scoop that the production has apparently auditioned both male and female performers for the role is made especially surprising by Rowling’s own highly outspoken opinions on gender politics. Over the last few years, Rowling’s once highly valued legacy has been largely eclipsed by her own shortcomings as a screenwriter on underwhelming and ultimately failed blockbuster attempts, such as the Fantastic Beasts sequels, and her penchant for engaging in political scuffles online.
As such, the fact that Voldemort is apparently being envisioned as a more gender-fluid character is a bit surprising. However, I would be remiss to not mention that not all representation is good representation, and the fact that the production seems to only be taking this approach for the most outright villainous character in the work means that it could still very well fall in line with Rowling’s more didactic present-day ethos.