Ralph Fiennes once said yes to returning as Voldemort, but something changed in the years since and he isn’t holding back

Ralph Fiennes has confirmed he will not be returning as Lord Voldemort for the HBO Harry Potter series, closing the door on a possibility he once openly entertained. The 63-year-old made the admission during an appearance on the Claudia Winkleman Show on BBC One, where he was joined by House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke and Michelle de Swarte of The Duchess when the subject of the reboot came up.

As detailed by LADbible, Winkleman pressed Fiennes directly on whether he would reprise the role, even telling him that no one else could capture the character the same way. Fiennes was candid in response, acknowledging that years ago he had been genuinely open to the idea and would have said yes without hesitation. But because nothing ever came of those early discussions, he told the audience that he now feels the ship has sailed.

The confirmation puts to rest a significant piece of casting speculation surrounding the reboot. Cillian Murphy had also been floated as a potential candidate for the role, but he shut that down quickly, telling The Times he was categorically not involved. The new series, produced by HBO, Warner Bros. Television, Brontë Film and TV, and Heyday Films, is set to premiere on December 25, 2026.

The rest of the cast is already in place, and the role of Voldemort is now the most visible gap left to fill

The production is already underway at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in Hertfordshire, with showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod leading the creative team. The first season, covering Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, will consist of eight episodes. Its teaser trailer pulled in 277 million views in 48 hours following its release in March 2026, making it one of the most-watched teasers in recent memory.

The core cast is largely set. Dominic McLaughlin plays Harry Potter, Alastair Stout is Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton takes on Hermione Granger. The supporting lineup includes John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Snape, and Nick Frost as Hagrid. The reboot bringing in mostly new faces is not unique to Harry Potter this year, as other long-running franchises have navigated similar questions about which original cast members return.

The original trio from the film series, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, have all publicly distanced themselves from J.K. Rowling over her views on transgender people. Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint each issued statements affirming their support for the trans community, with Radcliffe doing so through The Trevor Project and Watson and Grint both posting directly to X. Amid wider conversations about actors stepping away from franchises, a separate story this week saw an actor publicly cut from her representation after more than a decade, drawing its own attention in entertainment circles.

Fiennes played Voldemort across six films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. With his departure from the conversation now official, the search for whoever fills that role for the HBO series becomes the most prominent remaining question ahead of the December 2026 premiere.