Jude Law SaysFantastic BeastsMovies Are 'Certainly on Hold' withHarry PotterTelevision Reboot on the Way

Mar. 15, 2025

Jude Law in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.Photo:Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Everett Collection

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Everett Collection

Jude Lawdoes not believe he’ll be slipping on wizard robes again anytime soon.

In a feature interview withVarietypublished Oct. 30, Law, 51, said theFantastic Beastsmovies — in which he portrayed a younger version ofHarry Potter’s iconic character Albus Dumbledore — are “certainly on hold.”

Law first portrayed Dumbledore, whom the late actorsRichard HarrisandMichael Gambonplayed in thePotterfilm series, in 2018’sThe Crimes of Grindelwald.He reprised the role in 2022’sThe Secrets of Dumbledore, the last entry in the prequel franchise.Harry Potterseries author J.K. Rowling, who wrote the screenplays for theFantastic Beastsmovies, said as far back as 2016 that sheintended to make fiveFantastic Beastsfilms, but for now, the series does not appear poised to return for a fourth film.

Jessica Williams, Callum Turner, Jude Law, Fiona Glascott, Dan Fogler, Eddie Redmayne in 2022’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Everett Collection

Law toldVarietythat he “had a pretty clear sense of where it was going to go” and spoke positively of his time portraying Dumbledore, often characterized as one of the series' most powerful and enigmatic characters.

“To play him and to really feel a sense of his extraordinary powers, I found a nice place in myself,” he said. “I liked his heart, and I liked playing him because of that. I always enjoyed stepping in his shoes.”

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Back in October 2023, filmmaker David Yates, who directed each of the final fourPotterfilms and the threeFantastic Beastsmovies, told theInside Total Filmpodcastthat the series was “just parked” and said there were no “in-depth conversations at the moment” regarding its future.Eddie Redmayne, who costarred with Law in those films as the wizard Newt Scamander, similarly toldComicBook.comin a recent interview that “as far as I know, that’s it,” regarding his character.

Jude Law in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc./Everett Collection

As Law noted toVariety, Potterheads can remain excited for the franchise’s onscreen future on the small screen: Warner Bros.‘open casting callfor children in the U.K. and Ireland between the ages of 9 and 11 to portray the series’ main trio of characters — Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley — expires on Oct. 31.

Applicants for the casting call were asked to send a 30-second video of themselves reading a poem or short story that is not from Harry Potter, as well as a second video speaking about themselves.

AsDeadlinereported in September, HBO executive Casey Bloys most recently suggested theHarry Pottertelevision series would air its first season in late 2026 or early 2027.

source: people.com