John Lithgow is off to Hogwarts.
The actor, 79, is set to play Professor Albus Dumbledore on HBO’s new “Harry Potter” series.
After Pop Base posted the news to X, one user wrote: “He is perfect for the role!” while a second chimed in, “A brilliant actor in drama and comedy, I think he’ll make a great wizard! It would be amazing if the show goes 9 seasons!”
Rounding out the sweet commentary, one fan quipped: “John Lithgow as Dumbledore? A magical casting choice for sure.”
Others weren’t so quick to jump into the goblet of fire and sign off on this selection.
“Meh, I’ve already lost interest,” one critic wrote in the comments section.
“Noo this won’t work,” a second said, while a third added, “What? This is going to be the stupidest tv show ever. Will not make it one whole season.”
Lithgow confirmed the news in an interview with ScreenRant on Tuesday.
“It came as a total surprise to me,” he confessed. “I just got the phone call up at the Sundance Film Festival for yet another film, and it was not an easy decision because it’s going to define me for the last chapter of my life, I’m afraid.”
“I’m very excited. Some wonderful people are turning their attention back to ‘Harry Potter,’” continued Lithgow. “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.”
Despite the star’s confirmation, no other casting choices have been announced. Rumors swirling online suggest Paapa Essiedu is being considered for Severus Snape.
The main trio of Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley were all from the UK, but Lithgow is American. Casting this time around is much wider than the first eight films.
The series is set to premiere in 2026 and each season will adapt one of J.K. Rowling’s seven “Harry Potter” books. If the show does one season per year for all seven books, Lithgow would wrap the adaptation in 2033 at age 87.
Dumbledore has a long history of being played by iconic actors. In the first two “Harry Potter” movies, the original professor was portrayed by Richard Harris. Michael Gambon then took over the role after Harris died in 2002.
Jude Law, meanwhile, played the younger version of Dumbledore in two “Fantastic Beasts” prequels.
Rowling is involved in the series, despite her history of anti-transgender rhetoric.
HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed in a November press event that Rowling, 59, is an executive producer on the show.
“She’s been fairly involved — she was very involved in the process of selecting the writer and the director,” the CEO told reporters at the time.
“I imagine she’ll have opinions on casting,” Bloys continued. “It hasn’t affected the casting or hiring of writers or production staff or anything, so we haven’t felt any impact from that.”
