Looks Like Harry Potter's TV Show Will Introduce One Villain Earlier Than Expected, And It’s One Of My Favorites

Lucius Malfoy pointing his wand at Harry in Chamber of Secrets
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

There are popular franchises, but the Wizarding World is on another level entirely. The Harry Potter movies made J.K. Rowling's novels even more popular, and its expanded to spinoffs, theme parks, stage plays, video games, and more. A new book to screen adaptation is coming with the forthcoming Harry Potter TV show, which is filming now. It looks like my one of my favorite villains is being introduced early this time around: Lucius Malfoy.

What we know about the Harry Potter TV show changes day to day, thanks to news trickling out as Season 1 films. Actor Johnny Flynn has been cast as Lucius, taking on the role from Jason Isaacs. But in both the novels and movies he doesn't usually show up until the first sequel, The Chamber of Secrets. The actor spoke to The Standard about his experience so far, gushing:

It’s good, I’ve only done a little bit and I’m just giddy as a fan of the stories, of the books really. I still remember reading the books as a teenager and they meant so much to me and so much to my kids so it’s really cool to be apart of this.

While the elder Malfoy might be one of the biggest villains in Harry Potter, it sounds like Flynn is feeling more like a kid in a candy store. I've always been fascinated by Draco's family, so I'm hyped about Lucius seemingly getting introduced earlier in the forthcoming TV version. Bring on the twisted Death Eater family dynamic!

HBO Max: Plans start from $10.99 a month

HBO Max: Plans start from $10.99 a month
HBO Max is the streaming home of the Harry Potter franchise. Plans start at $10.99 a month (Basic With Ads), an HBO Max subscription gives you access to thousands of movies, shows, documentaries, and more.

Flynn has some big shoes to fill, as Jason Isaacs famously played Lucius Malfoy to perfection throughout the movies, appearing in a total of five of the Warner Bros. blockbusters. But we should presumably have way more time with the character in the TV version, thanks to each book being told across a full season of episodes. He's always been a favorite of mine, so this is a very exciting concept.

Seamus (Johnny Flynn) looks confused on The Lovers

(Image credit: Sky)

News about the Harry Potter show has been slowly trickling out, leading to a ton of discourse from the generations of fans out there. Franchise director Chris Columbus criticized the show for having identical costumes to the movies, and each new casting announcement goes viral. There's also plenty of positive buzz involved, including Jon Lithgow playing Albus Dumbledore.

Hardcore fans of the Potter books out there are intrigued by the TV version, as it should presumably be a more faithful adaptation. Trying to fit each of the long books into a movie length of time meant that plenty of content needed to be left on the cutting room floor, including entire characters and plot lines.

The Harry Potter franchise is streaming in its entirety on HBO Max, which will also be the home of the TV show. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while for the latter as it's not expected to be released until 2027.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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