HBO’s Harry Potter series may already have its new Harry, Ron, Hermione, and most of the Weasley family in place, but one major character is still very much up in the air, and that could prove to be problematic when it comes to shooting the next season. While Season 1, which adapts Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is now in the process of wrapping, the next chapter needs a new addition before things can move forward.
The show is now openly searching for a new Ginny Weasley after Gracie Cochrane exited the role following Season 1, and the latest update suggests the replacement process is still underway. A new open casting call has been launched for a child actor to play Ginny in the HBO Original adaptation. The listing confirms that applicants must be UK residents aged between 10 and 12, with submissions required to come from a parent or legal guardian through the Cast It website.
The search follows the news last month that Cochrane would not return for Season 2 due to “unforeseen circumstances.” In a statement at the time, Cochrane and her family said that stepping away from the role had been a difficult decision, while HBO said it supported the young actor and wished her the best.
Getting the right actor to play Ginny for Season 2 is imperative for HBO. While Ginny plays a small part, almost a cameo, in the first book, she becomes a key part of the story in Chamber of Secrets and, of course, ends up becoming romantically entangled with Harry towards the latter stages of J.K. Rowling’s seven books.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Who Stars in ‘Harry Potter’?
The cast includes Dominic McLaughlin (Grow) as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton (Matilda: The Musical) as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, John Lithgow (Conclave) as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Ozark) as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) as Rubeus Hagrid. Currently, nobody has been cast to play Lord Voldemort, despite speculation linking A-list names like Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy and Robert James Collier with the role.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is written and executive produced by Francesca Gardiner, with Mark Mylod executive producing and directing multiple episodes. The series will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max from Christmas Day.
Leave a Reply