HBO is rebooting Harry Potter. Here’s the cast so far:

John Lithgow is playing Albus Dumbledore

The first confirmed member of the Harry Potter TV show cast is John Lithgow. He recently confirmed that he’s starring as Albus Dumbledore in an interview with Screen Rant. Lithgow is American, which initially proved HBO is going to take liberties with the source material.

“It was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid. But I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to Harry Potter. That’s why it’s been such a hard decision. I’ll be about 87 years old at the wrap party, but I’ve said yes.”

Paapa Essiedu has been cast as Severus Snape

Deadline reports that Paapa Essiedu is closing his deal to play Snape. It was previously revealed that Snape, the Dursleys, and Harry Potter’s parents will be much closer to the canonical age from the books, which would put Snape in his thirties.

Other aspects will be a major shift, as Snape in the books is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes. He wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of ‘an overgrown bat’.

Here’s a picture J.K. Rowling made of him. She often depicted him as vampire-esque, but debunked any fan theories that he was actually one, although vampires and even zombies exist in the Wizarding World. It’s worth noting though she’s an exec producer and involved in the series.

HBO declined to comment:

“We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation,” the network said in a statement. “As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”

Janet McTeer is in talks to play Professor McGonagall 

Janet McTeer is in negotiations to play Professor Minerva McGonagall, sources tell Deadline. She’s a veteran actor known for her roles in projects like Ozark and The Menu.

Who will play the main trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley is unknown. The show appears to be casting veteran actors first for the adult roles, and they put out a wide casting call for the young characters, meaning the actors chosen will likely be unrecognizable names. Full casting for the show is expected to be released by the end of April.

The Harry Potter series is designed to run nearly a decade. The showrunner is Francesca Gardiner and the director & executive producer is Mark Mylod. Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, at the time of the original announcement called the show a ‘faithful adaptation’ of J.K. Rowling’s novels which will ‘dive deep into each of the iconic books’. J.K. Rowling is an exec producer and ‘fairly involved’ with the show.

We will continue to update this as more of the Harry Potter TV show cast comes in. For more TV updates check out site here.