According to The News International, John Lithgow has been discussing the possibility of playing Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming Harry Potter TV reboot, and the veteran actor has been candid about his reservations regarding stepping into such an iconic role.
Why This Rumor Has the Fancasting World Buzzing
Few casting decisions in recent memory carry as much weight as Dumbledore. The role has already been inhabited by two legendary actors — Richard Harris and Michael Gambon — meaning whoever takes the headmaster's chair for this Max series reboot walks into a comparison minefield from day one. That's apparently not lost on Lithgow himself. But beyond Dumbledore, this reboot represents one of the most expansive fancasting opportunities in years: a full Hogwarts roster, rebuilt from scratch, with every major role up for debate. Harry, Hermione, Snape, Voldemort — the whole magical ensemble is on the table, and fans have opinions.
What myCast Fans Are Already Saying
Here's where things get genuinely interesting. The myCast community has been working on this dream cast for a while, and the data tells a compelling story. Over on the Harry Potter fan cast story — the most active on the platform with 54 total votes across 16 roles — John Lithgow has already claimed the top spot for Professor Albus Dumbledore with 7 votes. So the rumor didn't come out of nowhere; fans were already there.
But Lithgow's Dumbledore support runs even deeper than that single story. Across the entire myCast platform, where he's been suggested for an impressive 5,123 roles total, his most popular fan cast by a significant margin is Dumbledore in the Harry Potter MAX Series Reboot — earning 52 votes. That's not a fringe pick. That's fans building a genuine consensus around him before any official announcement has even landed.
The rest of the Harry Potter fan cast is equally worth diving into. Dexter Sol Ansell leads the pack for Draco Malfoy with 8 votes, while Alexander Vlahos tops the Severus Snape ballot with 8 votes as well — an intriguing, perhaps underdog choice for one of the saga's most demanding roles. has fans excited as Lord Voldemort with 7 votes, and as Hagrid (5 votes) is the kind of inspired left-field suggestion that makes fancasting so much fun. A separate floats some bigger mainstream names — for McGonagall and for Filch — which shows just how wide the conversation really is.