More than two decades back, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint walked straight through Platform 9¾, brimming with excitement with their Hogwarts acceptance letters in hand.
Cut to 2025, we have a new trio for the HBO reboot series of the beloved franchise — Dominic McLaughlin will play the role of ‘The Boy Who Lived’, Arabella Stanton is set to feature as Harry’s geeky friend Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout as Harry’s red-haired bestie Ron Weasley.
While fans feel a range of emotions, from excitement to disappointment, here’s an in-depth look at the new cast and why they may or may not shine as breakthrough stars with the upcoming series.
Meet Arabella Stanton, the rising West End star
Our new Hermione, played by Arabella Stanton, has been the topic of discussion on social media ever since the announcement on Tuesday. Stanton, although still early in her career, has already made a name for herself in the theatre world.
The 11-year-old actress played the role of Matilda Wormwood in the West End production of Matilda The Musical, which ran from September 2023 to 2024. She continued to make waves in the West End world with an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Starlight Express from July 2024 till February this year. The Harry Potter series will mark her television debut.
While some netizens have been trolling the makers for casting Stanton because of her ethnicity, longtime fans of the Potter novels pointed out that she is “spot on” as described in the books. Moreover, the actress having previously played Matilda on stage also got some Redditters talking.
In the Harry Potter books, Hermione is described as an intelligent and determined girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth (later magically reduced). Fans have been raving about Stanton’s look shared by HBO for being accurate with the character’s description in the books.
“Looks so much as would picture Hermione in the books here! I really hope they do her hair bushy like this,” a fan wrote on Reddit. “She looks book accurate, they can make her hair look basically like this for Hermione, and Matilda and Hermione are definitely characters that have the same vibe,” another Reddit user posted.
Who is the new ‘The Boy Who Lived’?
Dominic McLaughlin, set to play the titular character in the upcoming series, is largely a newcomer to the screen. After an open casting call made by the makers last year for actors aged between nine and 11, McLaughlin was cast as Harry.
Apart from the Harry Potter series, McLaughlin has acted in projects like Sky channel’s upcoming comedy film Grow and a new BBC series, Gifted, both slated to release later this year.
While fans are mostly unable to accept the new generation of the golden trio, some have found McLaughlin’s look similar to that of Harry in the books. As Harry has bright green eyes in the novels, a fan tweeted, “His eyes look naturally green actually.” Another X user wrote, “I see the vision with the other two tbh (to be honest), but the vibes here are definitely off though.”
What about our Weasley friend?
Like McLaughlin, the Harry Potter series will also mark Alastair Stout’s big break. Stout will play the role of the red-haired Ronald Weasley, previously portrayed by Rupert Grint. Ron, coming from the large and loving Weasley family, is described as a tall and lanky boy with red hair and freckles in the books.
Fans found Stout’s casting bearing resemblance to Ron in the novels, similar to Stanton’s Hermione. “At least the comparison is somewhat accurate,” wrote a fan on X. “This is the only correct one,” another X user added, echoing the sentiment.
The Harry Potter reboot for television, announced in 2021, is described as a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling's best-selling novel series about the wizarding world.
The first season is reportedly scheduled to premiere in 2026.
