Warwick Davis, the beloved actor who brought Professor Flitwick to life in the original movies, has shared new details about HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter television series. In a recent interview, he explained that the new show is a very faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books and will include more story depth and detail than the films could show. Davis is currently filming his return as the Charms professor at the same studios where the original movies were made.
Warwick Davis Returns as Professor Flitwick
Warwick Davis is officially the first actor from the original film series to return for the HBO show. He will reprise his role as the kind and clever Professor Filius Flitwick. The news of his return was announced by HBO on September 1, 2025, which fans recognize as the annual “Back to Hogwarts” day.
While Davis played both Professor Flitwick and the goblin banker Griphook in the films, he will only play Flitwick in the new series. The role of Griphook will be played by actor Leigh Gill. Davis described the experience of returning to the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden as “weird” because it is the same place where the original movies were filmed.
“I’m working on it at the moment, but I can’t really tell you anything other than we’re retelling those wonderful stories but with more depth and detail than has been seen before,” Davis told Times Radio. “They’re very faithful adaptations of the book.”
A Deeper, More Detailed Look at the Wizarding World
The core promise from Davis and the production team is that this series will stick much closer to J.K. Rowling’s original books. The eight original movies had to condense seven long novels, which meant many subplots, characters, and details from the books were reduced or left out completely. The HBO series, with a planned season for each book, has the time to include this missing material.
This approach means fans can expect to see parts of the story that were never in the films. For characters like Professor Flitwick, this could mean exploring more of his background mentioned in the books, such as his history as a Ravenclaw student and his skill as a champion dueler. The series format allows for deeper character development for many supporting roles.
New Cast Members Join the Magical World
Alongside Warwick Davis, HBO has announced a large number of new cast members who will fill the halls of Hogwarts. The three main leads were announced earlier. Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton is Hermione Granger, and Alastair Stout will be Ron Weasley.
New announcements include actors for other well-known students and professors:
- Elijah Oshin will play Gryffindor student Dean Thomas.
- Finn Stephens and William Nash will play Draco Malfoy’s friends, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
- Sirine Saba takes on the role of Professor Pomona Sprout, the Herbology teacher.
- Richard Durden will play Professor Cuthbert Binns, the ghost who teaches History of Magic. This character was in the books but was not included in the films.
- Bríd Brennan will portray Madam Pomfrey, the matron of the Hogwarts hospital wing.
They join a star-studded adult cast including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
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Production Timeline and How to Watch
Production on the Harry Potter series is currently underway in the United Kingdom. The creative team is led by showrunner Francesca Gardiner, who previously worked on His Dark Materials, and director Mark Mylod from Succession. Author J.K. Rowling is serving as an executive producer.
The series is scheduled to premiere in 2027. It will be available to stream exclusively on Max (formerly HBO Max) in the United States and on HBO in other regions. The plan is for the series to run for seven seasons, with each season covering one of the seven Harry Potter books.
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