Harry Potter fans reckon Cilian Murphy could star in series reboot

Harry Potter fans are full of theories over the actors who could be cast in the new series - and Cillian Murphy has already been pitched by fans as a good contender for one character.

To huge fan excitement, after announcing they are merging into a platform known simply as 'Max', streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ have officially announced that a Harry Potter reboot is on the cards.

The plan is for several seasons of the TV series, with each one focusing on one of the books in JK Rowling's series.

Set to feature an entirely new cast of actors to play the beloved characters - which hasn't gone down well with devotees of the iconic eight-movie franchise - rumours now swirling as to who might be cast as the biggest characters of the seven-book TV show adaptation.

Warner Bros.

The Harry Potter reboot has been described as a 'faithful adaptation' that will focus on Rowling's books in more detail and is expected to become a 'decades-long series'.

So do fans think blue-eyed Murphy is set to don some hazel contacts and star as James Potter? Or perhaps his aloof demeanour would work well as the cold and resentful Severus Snape?

It seems fans are convinced that the Peaky Blinders actor would be great to play He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle - with one fan posting her idea to the Harry Potter Fans Club Facebook group, which has an impressive 361.5K members.

The post by Vera Owens reads: "I’ve been thinking that Cillian Murphy could be a good choice for Voldemort, so I decided to play around with some visuals…And now I definitely think he could be Voldemort."

Vera Owens/Facebook

And reaction to the fan-cast, which was posted two days ago, was seemingly mixed.

One fan commented: "He might be interesting as Voldemort, I can actually see it," while another said: "I don’t hate this surprisingly."

Others weren't convinced and still aren't over the characters being recast.

Someone lamented: "I want Ralph Fiennes to come back to the role; he said he’d like to come back to it as well."

While another quipped: "Looks more like slender man."

HBO and Max content CEO, Casey Bloys, expressed his excitement about the opportunity to make the show.

"We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way." he said.

"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World.

"In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years."