After Being Recast, HBO ‘Harry Potter’ Star Publicly Addresses Replacement for 2026 TV Show
HBO’s Harry Potter reboot hasn’t even aired its first episode, and the casting shakeups are already piling up.
One of the latest: Gracie Cochrane, who played Ginny Weasley throughout Season 1, will not be returning for Season 2. HBO attributed the departure only to “unforeseen circumstances,” offering no further explanation. The timing stings a little, since Ginny’s role will expand considerably in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — meaning the character is being recast right as she starts to matter more to the overall story.
Stepping into the role is Bonnie Hill, whose credits include Film Club and The Six Triple Eight (2024). And rather than let the transition go unacknowledged, Cochrane addressed it herself. Reacting to HBO’s official casting announcement on Instagram, she reshared the post with the caption “Handing over the wand” and “Good luck,” adding a wand emoji for good measure.
Hill isn’t the only new face joining Season 2. Lenny Rush, a 2023 BAFTA winner recognizable from Doctor Who and Enola Holmes 2 (2022), will voice Dobby the house-elf — the role Toby Jones originated in the films. Meanwhile, Billy Barratt, an International Emmy winner for Responsible Child (2019) who has since appeared in Kraven the Hunter (2024) and Bring Her Back (2025), has landed the part of teenage Tom Riddle. That casting officially ends fan speculation that Adolescence breakout Owen Cooper might play the young Riddle — a rumor HBO never confirmed in the first place.
Season 2 has already seen one other major cast change: Nicholas Hoult exited the role of Gilderoy Lockhart, with Game of Thrones veteran Kit Harington taking over as the vain celebrity professor.
Showrunner Francesca Gardiner is steering the series toward a December 2026 premiere with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, backed by a cast that skipped nostalgia casting entirely: Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron, joined by John Lithgow’s Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu’s Snape, Janet McTeer’s McGonagall, and Nick Frost’s Hagrid.
One casting choice in particular signals just how far this adaptation intends to diverge from the films: Peter Serafinowicz, known for Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Parks and Recreation (and for voicing Darth Maul), has been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist. Peeves was famously cut from the film franchise entirely, despite scenes reportedly being shot with the late Rik Mayall for 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Bringing him into live-action for the first time is a clear statement that this series is chasing book accuracy over film familiarity.
Two big questions remain unanswered. First: Who plays the adult Voldemort? Billy Barratt is only signed on for young Tom Riddle, leaving the fully transformed Dark Lord uncast. Paul Bettany, Tom Hiddleston, and Ralph Fiennes have all been floated by fans, though Fiennes has said he already turned the role down. There have even been reports suggesting Daniel Radcliffe could take on Voldemort — a theory that feels like a stretch given how synonymous he became with Harry Potter in the original films.
Second: will the original trio show up in the “19 Years Later” epilogue eventually? Speculation continues that Radcliffe, Emma Watson, or Rupert Grint could appear as the grown-up versions of Harry, Hermione, and Ron down the line, though nothing has been confirmed — and leaning on the old cast risks undercutting the whole point of a from-scratch reboot.
With a seven-season commitment on the table, and young actors already proving unavailable to stick around for the long haul, expect more cast shifts before this thing even gets to Chamber of Secrets. HBO seems to be betting that staying loyal to the books — restoring characters like Peeves, expanding roles like Ginny’s — is worth the growing pains of a revolving-door cast.
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