Harry Potter Season 2 Casts Young Voldemort, Dobby and Ginny

HBO’s new Harry Potter series is adding three familiar faces for its second season, including the young Tom Riddle, Dobby and Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.

Billy Barratt, known for Invasion, has been cast as teenage Tom Riddle, the young version of the wizard who eventually becomes Lord Voldemort. Lenny Rush, from Am I Being Unreasonable?, will play the beloved house-elf Dobby, while Bonnie Hill will take over the role of Ginny Weasley.

The three actors join Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, who has already been announced as Gilderoy Lockhart, the charming but famously self-obsessed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

A younger Tom Riddle

HBO is taking a different approach from the movies by casting a much younger actor as Tom Riddle.

Barratt is in his high teens, putting him much closer to the character’s age in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In the book, Riddle is 16 when Harry encounters a magical version of his younger self.

Christian Coulson played Tom Riddle in the 2002 movie adaptation. He was 23 when he was cast.

Barratt has already made history as an actor. He won an International Emmy at just 13 for the BBC Two television movie Reasonable Child, making him the youngest International Emmy winner.

Dobby gets a new face

Rush, who is 17, will portray Dobby in the new series.

The character was created with computer-generated effects in the original Harry Potter movies and was voiced by Toby Jones. HBO has not yet revealed exactly how Dobby will be brought to life this time.

The series could use CGI, motion capture, prosthetics or a combination of techniques. Whatever approach the producers choose, fans will be watching closely to see how the mischievous and loyal house-elf is reimagined.

Ginny Weasley is being recast

Bonnie Hill will play Ginny Weasley, replacing Gracie Cochrane, who portrayed the character during Season 1.

Cochrane and her family previously announced that she would not return for the second season.

Ginny has a much bigger role in Chamber of Secrets. Her story becomes closely connected to Tom Riddle after she begins writing in his mysterious magical diary. Her involvement eventually puts her in serious danger at Hogwarts.

Season 2 heads to Hogwarts

The second season of HBO’s Harry Potter is based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is scheduled to begin filming this fall.

Season 1 will premiere around Christmas on HBO and stream exclusively on HBO Max.

Dominic McLaughlin stars as Harry Potter, with Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger. The adult cast includes John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape and Nick Frost as Hagrid.

Francesca Gardiner serves as showrunner, writer and executive producer, while Mark Mylod is an executive producer and director on the series. Jon Brown, who wrote for Season 1, has been promoted to co-showrunner alongside Gardiner.

With Tom Riddle, Dobby, Ginny and Gilderoy Lockhart all joining the story, Season 2 is shaping up to bring one of the darker and more mysterious chapters of the Harry Potter books to life.