{"id":595140,"date":"2026-04-10T16:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/595140\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T16:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:47:09","slug":"harry-potter-star-ralph-fiennes-says-tilda-swinton-would-be-fantastic-as-lord-voldemort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/595140\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry Potter Star Ralph Fiennes Says Tilda Swinton Would Be &#8216;Fantastic&#8217; as Lord Voldemort"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Harry Potter movie star Ralph Fiennes has given his blessing for Doctor Strange&#8217;s Tilda Swinton to take over as Lord Voldemort.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">HBO&#8217;s upcoming <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/tv\/harry-potter-the-series\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Harry Potter TV series<\/a> is yet to cast the young wizard&#8217;s arch nemesis \u2014 though Voldemort only makes a cameo appearance in the saga&#8217;s first story. Still, as the show&#8217;s December launch date gets closer, time is running out for Fiennes&#8217; shoes to be filled, so a face can be slapped onto the back of Professor Quirrell&#8217;s head.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Speaking on tonight&#8217;s episode of The Claudia Winkleman Show (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c5yjqlg2ymqo\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">BBC News<\/a>), Fiennes revealed that he was once asked if he would reprise his role again, presumably for the upcoming series \u2014 albeit &#8220;some years ago.&#8221; In response, the actor said he&#8217;d &#8220;love to,&#8221; but since then has not heard more. Now, he believes &#8220;that ship has sailed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Fiennes was then asked for his opinion on who might take the role of Voldemort next, and specifically his thoughts on the casting of Swinton, who has long been linked to the part in fan circles. In response, Fiennes said that the Marvel and Narnia star would be &#8220;fantastic.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">While Swinton has long been considered a good fit for Voldemort, it would be interesting to see how the series adapted to her casting. Would Voldemort&#8217;s real name still be Tom Marvolo Riddle \u2014 from which his Dark Lord moniker was derived?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/2026\/04\/10\/gettyimages-615944896-1775831504539.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img alt=\"null\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image article-image article-image-full-size jsx-1809694635 jsx-2338608387\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/a>Tilda Swinton at the premiere of Doctor Strange on October 20, 2016 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Frazer Harrison\/Getty Images.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/harry-potter-tv-series-has-serious-security-team-as-hbo-boss-acknowledges-passionate-fans-people-with-a-lot-of-opinions-in-the-wake-of-actor-death-threats\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Speaking last month<\/a>, HBO boss Casey Bloys claimed he didn&#8217;t know who was in the running for the role, and said the network had yet to lock down its decision. Peaky Blinders actor Cillian Murphy has meanwhile denied that he would be taking the role, after similar buzz around him.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">As for Fiennes, while the actor seemed sure his offer to return as Voldemort would no longer be taken up, he wouldn&#8217;t have been the first Harry Potter movie star to reprise his role for the TV series \u2014 as Star Wars and Willow actor Warwick Davis will return as Professor Flitwick.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Last month also gave us our <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/harry-potter-tv-show-trailer-reveals-first-look-at-classic-moments-reimagined-and-a-christmas-release-date\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">first trailer for the Harry Potter series<\/a>, showing the young actor Dominic McLaughlin in the series&#8217; title role alongside John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, and many, many more.<\/p>\n<p>Harry Potter and the Philosopher&#8217;s Stone TV Show Character Images<img alt=\"Alastair Stout (Ron), Dominic McLaughlin (Harry), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione). Image courtesy of Warner Bros.\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2021719738 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">With production on the show now confirmed as no longer aiming for an annual launch, HBO is in the curious situation of casting an actor it will likely barely need to use for several years. After cameoing in the first book, Voldemort (as a grown-up) is not seen again until the series&#8217; fourth story, Goblet of Fire \u2014 production on which will not likely take place until the end of the current decade, with the series not expected to fully launch all seven of its seasons much before the end of the next decade. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Writing is now underway on the series&#8217; second season, after filming was completed last year on its first, which will <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/yes-the-harry-potter-hbo-tv-series-will-include-scenes-not-from-the-original-books-and-john-lithgow-has-now-been-spotted-in-costume-as-dumbledore\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">include fresh scenes not from the prior movies or books<\/a>. A recent <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/harry-potter-tv-series-set-leak-video-reveals-new-look-diagon-alley\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">major set leak gave fans a detailed look at the new Diagon Alley<\/a>, while HBO has admitted the company <a class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/such-a-big-commitment-hbo-says-harry-potter-tv-series-was-a-financial-investment-we-normally-wouldnt-make\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">is spending big on the show, and making a level of financial investment it normally wouldn&#8217;t make<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Image credit: Jeff Spicer\/Getty Images for BFI.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/tomphillipseg.bsky.social\" class=\"link jsx-1337145738 jsx-3925284146 underlined\" data-cy=\"styled-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Harry Potter movie star Ralph Fiennes has given his blessing for Doctor Strange&#8217;s Tilda Swinton to take over&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,75,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-595140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}