Harry Potter legend Ralph Fiennes appears to have accidentally revealed which Peaky Blinders star will be taking over the role of Voldermort in HBO’s TV adaptation of the franchise
19:09, 25 Jan 2026Updated 19:09, 25 Jan 2026
Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort (Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ralph Fiennes appears to have let slip which new star will be playing Voldemort in HBO’s Harry Potter adaptation, with the BAFTA winner backing a certain Peaky Blinders star.
The 63-year-old played the role of Lord Voldermort in the Harry Potter film franchise, from 2005 until the final movie in 2011. Harry is set to return to our screens next year in HBO’s upcoming TV adaptation starring the likes of John Lithgow, Nick Frost, Paapa Essiedu and Janet McTeer.
While the new face of Voldermort is yet to be confirmed, Ralph seemed to accidentally confirm the stellar casting in a new interview. When asked who should fill his shoes on a recent red carpet, he said in a video shared by Let’s Talk Movies: “Well, I’m told they’re already filled, aren’t they?”
(Image: WireImage)
He continued: “I’ve already said, I think Cillian Murphy is very good. Very good. Very good choice. I think they’ve cast it, haven’t they? I don’t know. I thought they had.”
Fans quickly took to social media to rave about the casting, with one writing: “This is amazing news.” Another said: “Oh man this is a good casting actually.”
A third wrote: “Crazy work. This is going to be what makes the show so good. You’ve now peaked [sic] my interest.” The Mirror has reached out to HBO for comment.
Cillian is best known for his roles in 28 Days Later, Red Eye, The Dark Knight Trilogy and more recently, BBC One period drama Peaky Blinders, in which he played Tommy Shelby. The 49-year-old won a BAFTA and an Academy Award for his role as Robert Oppenheimer in the critically-acclaimed 2023 film Oppenheimer.
Cillian Murphy is Peaky Blinders(Image: BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky)
The upcoming Harry Potter series stars newcomer Dominic McLaughlin as the titular role, while Arabella Stanton will play Hermoine Grainger and Alastair Stout will star as Ron Weasley. Meanwhile, Paul Whitehouse, Bertie Carvel, Johnny Flynn, Bel Powley, Daniel Rigby and Katherine Parkinson are among those who have been cast in the reboot.
Warwick Davis is the only returning star from the film franchise, with the 55-year-old reprising his role as Professor Filius Flitwick.
While the casting news left many fans excited, others voiced their confusion over why Harry Potter is coming back when many elements of the show appear to be identical the films.
“So not only is this show filmed in the same place as the movies and has near identical costumes to the movies but it’s also reusing cast members from the movies?” a fan wrote on X back in September. “Genuinely what’s the point of this?”
However, another responded: “I’m so tired of seeing this same tweet over and over again. The point is that they have a lot more runtime to actually adapt the books entirely instead of only partially as the film series did.”
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