While the Irish actor wished “good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes,” all he knows is that it won’t be him
Cillian Murphy isn’t taking up the mantle as Voldemort in the Harry Potter series currently in development at HBO. During a recent appearance on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor denied that rumors of him taking the role of the villain have any credibility.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Murphy said, noting that his kids have shown him the rumors on occasion. “I mean, also, it’s just really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does. The man is an absolute acting legend. So, good luck to whoever is going to fill those shoes.”
The upcoming reboot television series will be directed by Mark Mylod with Francesca Gardiner as showrunner. So far, Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton have joined the cast in the respective roles of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermoine Granger. John Lithgow will play Dumbledore, while Janet McTeer joins as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Earlier this year, Lithgow defended his decision to take the role despite anti-trans rhetoric from author J.K. Rowling, who is an executive producer on the show. “Of course, it was a big decision because it’s probably the last major role I’ll play,” he said. “It’s an eight-year commitment so I was just thinking about mortality and that this is a very good winding-down role.”
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In May, HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys told The Town podcast, “The decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us. We’ve been in business for 25 years … We already have a show on HBO from her called C.B. Strike that we do with the BBC. It’s pretty clear that those are her personal, political views. She’s entitled to them. Harry Potter is not secretly being infused with anything. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”