New Harry Potter series launches casting call

Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint at the New York premiere of the first Harry Potter film in 2001

HBO's upcoming Harry Potter series has launched a casting call for young actors.

The casting call was opened earlier this week, and the TV network has confirmed its authenticity to Variety.

To be eligible for the roles of Harry, Ron or Hermione, children must be between the ages of nine and 11 in April 2025 and be residents of the UK or Ireland.

The casting call also says it is "committed to inclusive, diverse casting".

It continues: "For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to ethnicity, sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated."

For those who wish to apply, they must send two self-tapes, which are videos of those auditioning.

It asks that one video be "a short poem or story" (though nothing from Harry Potter) and the second "telling us a bit about yourself, including your date of birth, height and where you live".

It also asks for children to use their own accents.

There is no release date yet for the series, but the call notes that the series is expected to film in the UK during 2025-26.

Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, who worked on Succession, will serve as writer and director respectively.

It is also expected that there will be seven series of the show, each season adapting one of the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling.

In August 2000, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint were picked to play Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley in the original films.

Grint, who was 12, applied for the role after seeing a Newsround report about the open casting.

Radcliffe has previously said that while he is "excited" to watch the new adaptation, he doesn't think he'll make a cameo.

"I think they very wisely want a clean break," he told E! News.

"And I don’t know if it would work to have us do anything in it. I’m very happy to just watch along with everyone else."