We all knew it was inevitable, and in April 2023, Warner Bros. confirmed they’ll be rebooting the beloved story of Harry Potter for a TV show on their streaming service Max. And the response has definitely been mixed. While many diehard fans of the books are excited to see the series adapted in a different medium, others are frustrated with the lack of original content being produced and J.K. Rowling’s involvement as an executive producer. Well, whether you love it or hate it, the Harry Potter reboot is coming. And as for me, I can’t help but wonder who will be cast in all the major roles.
Of course, you can’t have the story of Harry Potter without the Golden Trio, a.k.a. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. The three characters are so iconic, and actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson did a stellar job bringing them to life in all eight movies. It couldn’t have been easy casting children to play roles they’d be reprising for about a decade, but Warner Bros. pulled it off. Will the same be said for the TV show? It’s already been confirmed that the new actors will be in it for the long haul, with the series receiving a 10-year order. Who could be the perfect actors?
We have a few ideas, but we decided to have some fun and ask the AI tool ChatGPT who it thinks should play Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Because ChatGPT has limited data after the year 2021, it was a little difficult to get actors who aren’t already too old to portray the characters. The three Hogwarts students are just pre-teens at the start of the series, so we obviously don’t want soon-to-be adults to play these roles. After some tweaking to my prompt, here’s what ChatGPT gave me.
AI tells us who should play Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the reboot
Here are AI’s picks:
"For the role of Harry, I think young actor Jacob Tremblay would be an excellent choice! He’s already shown his impressive acting skills in films like Room and Wonder, and his natural talent and charm would make him the perfect fit to play the Boy Who Lived.As for Ron Weasley, I believe young actor Julian Grey would be a fantastic choice! You may recognize him from his role in the Amazon Prime series, Little Fires Everywhere, and his natural comedic timing and heart would make him a perfect Ron.Lastly, for Hermione Granger, I think young actress Brooklynn Prince would be an excellent choice! She’s already shown her incredible acting skills in films like The Florida Project and Home Before Dark, and her intelligence and strong-willed personality would make her a perfect fit for Hermione."
I’m admittedly not familiar with Julian Grey, but I can vouch that Jacob Tremblay and Brooklynn Prince are outstanding actors. At 16 years old, Tremblay might be a little too old to play Harry, but there’s no doubt he could do a fantastic job bringing the Boy Who Lived to life. Grey is 17 years old, which again is probably too old to play Ron, but considering he recently appeared in the 2021 movie The Matrix Resurrections, we know he has experience with action films which could be a plus.
At 13 years old, Prince could be a perfect Hermione. I first saw her in The Florida Project, which she absolutely wowed me in, and more recently she appeared in Cocaine Bear. She’s super versatile and could definitely be convincing as the studious witch.
I’m sure many Harry Potter fans are hoping Warner Bros. casts unknown actors to portray the Golden Trio. I’ll certainly be curious to see what age group they go with, as Daniel Radcliffe was 12 at the start of the movie series, Rupert Grint was 13, and Emma Watson was 11. Fingers crossed we get more news on the Max show soon!
What are your thoughts on the Harry Potter reboot?