Production has officially begun for HBO’s Harry Potter TV show, which has a confirmed release window of 2027. The two year wait has already been made to feel even longer thanks to reports the company has cast the role of ruthless villain Voldemort, but won’t be announcing who’s playing him.
According to Redanian Intelligence as seen by Comic Book Resources, a source hasn’t only claimed that HBO has no current plans to announce their Voldemort, but the first two seasons on the show’s supposed 10-year tenure are being filmed back to back.
Instead of waiting for 2027 to come around, I’ve decided to try and solve the mystery myself. Given the first looks at Dominic McLaughlin’s Harry and Nick Frost’s Hagrid, I’m going to assume our Voldemort will look exactly how we expect him to. With that in mind, my five choices of which actor should play the villain should each be absolutely perfect.
Cillian Murphy
Google “Voldemort HBO” and the first name you’ll see come up is Cillian Murphy. Rumors about him playing the Dark Lord have been scattered around the internet since the end of 2024, and there’s a good reason he’s the current favourite for the role. The most obvious reason is his look. If you compare Ralph Finnes’ Voldemort with Murphy’s face, there’s a similar carved, angular look to their bone structure. Pop him in a bald cap, and you’ve basically got a ready-made villain on your hands (complimentary).
Of course, he’s also an outstanding actor too. In the public consciousness, he’s still riding high on his Academy Award winning performance in Oppenheimer, alongside his upcoming involvement in the Peaky Blinders movie for Netflix. According to an interview Danny Boyle did with IGN, Murphy will also appear in the sequel to 28 Years Later, titled The Bone Temple.
So, clearly Murphy’s calendar is pretty busy as it is, but could he make some time to snag the role of one of the most famous fictional villains of the 21st century? Surely the answer is yes. If initial rumors were true, the Harry Potter series won’t feature Voldemort until later on, which is in line with what happens in the original movies. However, it’s just as likely that Voldemort appears sooner, especially if he’s already been cast in secret. Regardless, Murphy would no doubt make him even more stomach-churningly awful than we remember him being.
Tom Hiddleston
Another British actor at the top of his game at the moment is Tom Hiddleston, who would arguably bring a sense of eccentricity to Voldemort that we’ve not seen before. His portrayal of Marvel’s Loki tells us all we need to know in this sense, injecting empathy alongside an undeniable need to love him no matter what heinous things he does. Again, he’s got a similar stature to Murphy that would make slipping into Voldemort’s dark robes incredibly easy, and once he’s finished filming for Avengers: Doomsday, his schedule isn’t looking too packed (well, at least not judging by IMDB).
For Hiddleston , the main stumbling block would be that he’s already aligned with a massive global franchise. If we look at the rest of the cast, nobody else is tied to a continued role in the same way, even those who are established. The fact that there’s so much of a focus on new talent might mean HBO is looking to give the role to somebody who wants a big franchise score, but hasn’t had one yet.
Even so, that’s a pretty weak reason to rule Hiddleston out completely. He’d certainly be a popular choice with the public (not just me), and he’d work as an antidote to any fan negativity about the show’s casting or entire existence. Voldemort has never exactly been someone you’d want to spend much time with at Hogwarts, but maybe he could be?
Benedict Cumberbatch
The biggest guns of the bunch, Benedict Cumberbatch is probably the most unlikely choice out of the guesses I’ve made, but boy would he be good in this role. He’s flagged down by the same franchise logic as Hiddleston is, even though he doesn’t appear to be filming for Doomsday (emphasis on “appear”). Almost all of his upcoming projects are in some form of post-production, so once again, the schedule is wide open.
Cumberbatch is the first of our guesses to have had his face AI generated onto Voldemort as early as 2023, and the results are absolutely horrifying. In this instance, the photo is more like what would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Voldemort had a magical baby, but it confirms how Cumberbatch could strike fear into any Hogwarts student without too much effort.
What he has that our others don’t is a sense of refinement. Voldemort is obviously someone who sees himself as better than everyone else, and Cumberbatch plays that role with aplomb. Sherlock, The Imitation Game and The Courier are all great examples of this, alongside practically every time we’ve seen him give an interview or appear on a talk show. The man oozes classic British charm, and that’s a great fit for Harry Potter.
Simon Pegg
Since HBO Voldemort rumors broke, I’ve seen Simon Pegg’s name swirling around online. He’s probably not the first person you’d think of for the job, but he’s a smart choice. Obviously, Harry Potter is a world away from the likes of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but he’s played an impeccably eerie villain in Doctor Who, and horror movies like The Gathering and Becky. Smart, quick-witted, and undeniably charismatic, Pegg is also someone who could make evil seem appealing.
If you’re a video game fan, you might already know that Pegg has a connection to the world of Harry Potter. In Hogwarts Legacy, he voices Phineas Nigellus Black, the younger brother of Sirius Black I. We’ve also got his Cornetto trilogy co-creator Nick Frost in the HBO series as Hagrid, and seeing an on-screen reunion between the two is an extra cherry on the cake for those willing to see Pegg in the role.
With the Mission: Impossible movies all wrapped up, Pegg is also neither tied to a franchise nor bogged down by projects that are going to take a long time to complete. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a totally unexpected casting in two years’ time, and Pegg would certainly fit the bill for the right kind of shock. Plus, he’d look exceptional in the black capes, swooshing around the place. That’s the kind of hard, serious evidence I look for in my dream castings.
Pedro Pascal
There has to be a wildcard choice in every dream casting article, and Pedro Pascal is mine. AI images of him at Hogwarts have been popping up all over X/Twitter, and I just can’t help but be compelled by seeing the internet’s favourite man do the ultimate 180 for the ultimate baddie. Sure, he’s incredibly busy with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Doomsday, The Mandalorian movie and… well, basically everything else, but what’s one more project to add to the list?
If HBO wants to win fans over by giving them something that cannot fail – as in, the viewing public will love their inclusion no matter what – Pascal is the obvious choice. I defy anybody on Earth not to be in love with him, both as a person and a performer. Plus, it would be incredibly fun to see how far his acting range can extend. We’ve never properly seen him in a fictionally bad light, and maybe now is the time for a change.
Is this likely to be a decision we’ll see manifested in reality? No. But let me dream in peace for a bit, okay? To paraphrase Cam from Modern Family: “Excuse me. Pedro Pascal could play Batman and be the right choice.” He really is Mister Fantastic to his very core.