Celebrity Status: Harry Potter, Cape Fear, And Moana 2
The Harry Potter television series has officially found its headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
John Lithgow, 79, recently confirmed to ScreenRant that he said “yes” to playing Albus Dumbledore in HBO‘s upcoming small screen adaptation of J. K. Rowling’s hit books. The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier this month that Lithgow was in talks for the role.
Lithgow follows in the footsteps of other actors who portrayed Dumbledore in the blockbuster films, including Richard Harris, who played the character in the first two movies, and Michael Gambon (who died in 2023), who took over the role after Harris died in 2002.
The Harry Potter series, which is set to begin filming this summer, is described as a “more in-depth” adaptation of Rowling’s seven-book series compared to the film franchise. The book series follows an orphan boy, Harry Potter, who discovers he is a wizard and attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It’s there that he learns to control his magical abilities and defeats the evil Lord Voldemort. Francesca Gardiner is serving as the showrunner for the series, with Mark Mylod set to direct multiple episodes.
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Apple TV+ has found its third lead for the streamer’s upcoming Cape Fear series.
Patrick Wilson (the Conjuring franchise, FX’s Fargo) is joining Javier Bardem and Amy Adams in the series, an adaptation of the two previous Cape Fear films from 1991 and 1962 (which in turn were based on The Executioners, a 1957 novel by John D. MacDonald). Wilson will play Tom Bowden, an attorney married to fellow lawyer Anna (Adams).
As with the films, the Cape Fear series will follow what unfolds after killer Max Cady (Bardem) is released from prison and seeks out the Bowdens, whom he blames for his sentence. The show will add a 21st century wrinkle by also exploring America’s current true-crime obsession.
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“Moana 2,” the sequel to the Oscar-nominated film about a young Polynesian woman on a quest to break an ancient curse, will be available to stream on Disney+ on March 12.
