Ralph Fiennes Is ‘Not Surprised’ by Upcoming “Harry Potter” TV Reboot: ‘It Was a While Ago’

Ralph Fiennes is ready to pass the torch on his role as Voldemort.

At the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, the 62-year-old actor, who is nominated for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture — drama for Conclave, gave his honest thoughts on the news that the Harry Potter film franchise is being rebooted as a multi-season TV show on HBO.

"I’m not surprised," Fiennes said on the red carpet during Variety and Entertainment Tonight's pre-show. "It was a while ago those films were made."

Fiennes, who played Lord Voldemort in four of the films, which were based on J.K. Rowling's book series, said that he knows there's "a whole new generation who would probably want to see a new approach" to the beloved story.

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The actor's comments on the TV reboot — which HBO has confirmed will see each of the seven books explored in their own respective seasons and will stay "faithful" to the original text — come after he endorsed Cillian Murphy as a potential successor.

When asked about rumors that the Irish actor could step in as Voldemort in the series on Watch What Happens Live in December, Fiennes praised Murphy, 48, as "fantastic."

"That’s a wonderful suggestion," he said. "I would be all in favor of Cillian, yeah."

Since HBO confirmed the TV series had been greenlit in April 2023, several cast members from the original films have weighed in on the news, including Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe.

The actor has already confirmed he won't be starring in the show, but told E! in May that he's "very excited to watch as an audience member."

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He's also revealed which book he's most excited to see explored onscreen again.

“The last one," he said at the 2024 Tony Awards. "I mean, it'll be a while before they get to that, I assume, but that was always one of my favorite of the books and of the films."

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While Radcliffe won't be making an appearance, Gary Oldman, who played Sirius Black in the original films, might be returning to the Wizarding World for the series.

The actor, who said his character "wasn't in [the movies] enough" due to his death, told IndieWire he had not been "approached" about the series, but that didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it.

"Maybe in a few years I could [play] Dumbledore," he said, though he was sure to reiterate his "love" for his original character.

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