Ralph Fiennes may have accidentally revealed that Cillian Murphy has been cast as the next Lord Voldemort in HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
The comments came during a red-carpet interview in January 2026, when Fiennes, who portrayed Voldemort in the original Harry Potter films, was asked who should replace him in the role for HBO’s planned reboot. Rather than offering a hypothetical answer, Fiennes appeared to suggest the decision had already been made.
“Well, I’m told they’re already filled, aren’t they?” Fiennes said. He then added, “I’ve already said I think Cillian Murphy is very good. [He’s a] very good, very good choice. I think they’ve cast it, haven’t they?”
After reporters pressed for clarification, Fiennes seemed to realize the implications of what he had said. He briefly backtracked, stuttering that he “thought they had” before joking to one interviewer, “You caught me out.”
The remarks immediately reignited rumors that Murphy had been lined up to play the iconic villain, but they also conflicted with the actor’s own comments just months earlier. In late 2025, Murphy addressed the speculation on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he denied any involvement with the project.
At the time, Murphy said he knew nothing about being cast as Voldemort and added that it would be “really hard to follow anything Ralph Fiennes does” in the role. Those comments were widely seen as shutting down the rumor, making Fiennes’ latest remarks all the more surprising.
As of now, HBO has not confirmed any casting for Voldemort in its Harry Potter series, which is expected to debut in 2027. While reports suggest that several other key roles have already been filled, the network has remained silent on who will portray the franchise’s primary antagonist.
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