HBO’s ‘Harry Potter’ Series Needs A Younger Dumbledore Actor For Flashbacks

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The role of Professor Albus Dumbledore has been played by three different actors in the Harry Potter films. By casting a new Dumbledore for the upcoming HBO series, the creators have a chance to address a long-standing inconsistency in how the character has been portrayed. Richard Harris originally played Dumbledore in the first two movies, but after his death in 2002, Michael Gambon took over the role for the remaining films based on J.K. Rowling’s books.

John Lithgow is joining the select group of actors who have portrayed Dumbledore, and he’s the first one not from Britain to take on the role. He was older than both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon when they first played Dumbledore, and is expected to continue in the part for the duration of HBO’s planned multi-season series. Previously, a much younger actor played the headmaster, which created some inconsistencies, but the new show will avoid that issue.

Jude Law’s Professor Dumbledore Looked Far Too Young For the ‘Harry Potter’ Period in Which He Appeared


Warner Bros. Pictures

The Harry Potter series doesn’t often rely on flashbacks, so when they do happen, they really stand out. A prime example is in Chamber of Secrets (2002), where Harry uses Tom Riddle’s diary to see what Voldemort was like as a student. This scene shows Hogwarts many years before Harry’s time. However, the movie doesn’t really try to make Dumbledore appear much younger. The Fantastic Beasts films, which take place before the main series, did a better job of showing a younger Dumbledore, though those films have been somewhat controversial.

Jude Law first portrayed a younger version of Professor Dumbledore in the 2018 film The Crimes of Grindelwald and continued in the role in 2022’s The Secrets of Dumbledore. Because the Fantastic Beasts series takes place in the 1920s and 30s—before the events of the original Harry Potter films—it made sense to cast a younger actor. However, this casting creates an odd continuity issue. In the original films, flashbacks to Dumbledore’s past always showed the actor who currently played him. This means that events shown in Fantastic Beasts happen around the same time as scenes in the original Harry Potter films, making the transition between Jude Law, and then Richard Harris/Michael Gambon, appearing as Dumbledore, feel abrupt and unexplained.

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I’ve always wondered about the flashbacks featuring Dumbledore. Some people suggest that in The Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle/Harry are actually remembering Dumbledore as he looks later in life, but that doesn’t quite explain all the other flashbacks. The real reason, I think, is simple: the Fantastic Beasts movies hadn’t been filmed yet! There was never any intention to cast a younger Dumbledore, so Jude Law wasn’t available to play him in those earlier scenes. It just wasn’t planned at the time.

How the HBO ‘Harry Potter’ Series Can Fix This Dumbledore Inconsistency


Warner Bros. Pictures

The casting of Jude Law brought up a timeline issue in the Harry Potter movies that fans have been debating online, and Warner Bros. is probably aware of it. Luckily, there’s a simple solution now that the films have already shown this inconsistency. HBO could cast a younger actor to play Dumbledore, appearing whenever it makes sense – like in flashbacks – instead of always using John Lithgow. This approach could also help connect the Fantastic Beasts stories to the main Harry Potter narrative, if that’s what the studio plans to do.

The Harry Potter flashbacks in the films generally work well, as long as you don’t consider the Fantastic Beasts movies. While Dumbledore doesn’t always look convincingly young in those flashback scenes, it’s important to remember he was already over a hundred years old at the start of the Harry Potter books. So, even going back a couple of decades, he’d still appear quite old. From a filmmaking standpoint, especially in fantasy, it’s understandable why they didn’t recast the role of Dumbledore with a younger actor. The new show might make the same decision and avoid recasting. Whatever they decide, it’s best to choose a direction early on and stick with it.

A Significantly Younger Dumbledore Actor Wouldn’t Be Required Until At Least ‘Harry Potter’ Season 2


Warner Bros.

HBO’s new Harry Potter series will cover one of J.K. Rowling’s seven books each season. Season one will adapt The Sorcerer’s Stone, and season two will tackle The Chamber of Secrets. John Lithgow is perfectly suited to play Dumbledore throughout the series, as the first book’s events don’t require a younger actor. While the book’s opening scene takes place about ten years before the main story, it’s not a significant enough time difference to necessitate recasting the role.

Season 2 needs to revisit the scene where Harry uses Tom Riddle’s diary to see what Hogwarts was like in the past. The conversation between Dumbledore and Tom in this scene is crucial to the overall story, so it must be included. This will be the first time viewers will see how the show handles younger versions of Dumbledore – whether they’ll cast a new, younger actor for flashbacks or continue using John Lithgow throughout the series.

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2025-12-01 20:03