Castium Revelio: March Madness Springs Forth Gladness!
Welcome to Castium Revelio, where we do our best to cast Lumos to reveal the most interesting upcoming projects each former cast and crew member of our wizarding world family is working on. This week is absolutely cram-jam full of surprising cameos, funny interviews, and projects we had no idea were taking place. Join us as we explore the Muggle jobs of our favorite cast and crew from the Harry Potter films!
We previously told you about the Artemis Fowl film, which will be directed and produced by Sir Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart). It appears that production has finally begun, starting with principal photography. The film will be shot in at least three locations, including England, Northern Ireland, and Ho Chi Minh City. While no other Potter alumni star in the film, Goblet of Fire composer Patrick Doyle is attached to score the Artemis Fowl soundtrack.
While he may be working on his cage-fighting career, Josh Herdman (Gregory Goyle) is still keeping his acting skills in fighting shape as well. The actor has been cast in a new crime series, Marcella. Take a look at its tweet below, which shows a still of Herdman in his new role as Eric, who just so happens to be a cage fighter.
Any guesses about Eric’s background? He like most of the characters seem very troubled! #Marcella @Josh_Herdman pic.twitter.com/uNL0Qnh63a
— Marcella Fan Theories (@marcella_fan) March 7, 2018
Rumor also has it that Josh is set to star in a new take on Robin Hood, alongside Fifty Shades of Grey star Jamie Dornan. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for that adaptation and bring you more information as it becomes available!
The first Captain Marvel set photos showing us a glimpse of Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore, Crimes of Grindelwald) as Mar-Vell have hit the internet! A tweet from Hollywood Pipeline revealed a coat-covered Law, laughing between takes. Not much can be gleaned from the photos because most of his costume is blocked from view. Check out one of the photos below.
It seems that Miriam Margolyes is going back to her Professor Sprout roots to support Puffs as it opens in Melbourne! We are no stranger to the Puffs world, having reviewed the off-Broadway play a few times. With the play now opening down under, a whole new audience will get a chance to see the play about a group of ‘Puff students who are just trying to survive at their magical school after discovering that they are wizards. Take a look at Margoyles’s photo with the cast and see what she had to say about the Melbourne play.
Miriam Margolyes with the cast of “Harry Potter”-inspired play “Puffs”: Keith Brockett, Ryan Hawkes, and Eva Seymour. Source
It’s a play for anyone who has never been destined to save the world. It celebrates the fact you don’t have to be a hero.
One of our favorite ginger-haired Potter alumni has been a busy lad, fending off questions about his role in the next Star Wars movie while walking the red carpet to support his latest film, Peter Rabbit.
While he has no idea if his General Hux will return to a galaxy far, far away, Domhnall Gleeson (Bill Weasley) appeared amused with his role as Mr. McGregor, Peter Rabbit’s nemesis, despite the food allergy controversy that has been plaguing the film’s premiere. Check out his interview below for the full details, and don’t forget to support Domhnall by watching Peter Rabbit, in theaters now!
The adaptation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, directed by former Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell, is a lot closer to a release date in the US than we originally thought, thanks to Netflix. The streaming service is bringing the film to subscribers in North and Latin America, Italy, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. The film is already slated for a release in the UK on April 20 and tells the story of journalist Juliet Ashton, played by Lily James, who receives a letter from a member of the Potato Peel Pie Society on Guernsey Island during the Second World War. No word on the actual release date for US Netflix subscribers, but we are anxiously awaiting the ability to add the film to our Netflix queue!
Back in November, we told you about the new animated series Moomins, starring Warwick Davis (Griphook/Filius Flitwick) as Sniff, a pet to the Moomins main characters. Now we’re happy to reveal another Potter cast member will take part in the re-imagining of the characters created by Tove Jansson. Katie Leung (Cho Chang) has been cast as Too-Ticky. Take a look at what we might expect the animated characters to look like when the series premieres.
Reshoots on the remake of Agatha Christie’s Ordeal By Innocence, starring Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour) and Anthony Boyle (Scorpius Malfoy, Cursed Child), are finally finished, and we are sprinting toward the finish line! A trailer was released this week, with the addition of Christian Cooke, who replaced Ed Westwick in the three-episode production for BBC One. Take a look below!
While we are used to seeing Nighy take on a variety of roles from serious to silly, this is only the second time we have really seen Anthony outside of the wizarding world, with both roles colored heavily by drama. Based on his performance alongside Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail) in Phillip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams episode “The Commuter” and the trailer above, we totally get why Anthony won an award for his portrayal of Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Dude has got some serious acting chops! The series is set to air on Easter Sunday.
Finally! The rumor that Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) would be joining the next season of Netflix’s The Crown can be confirmed. At the INTV conference in Jerusalem last week, the CEO of Left Bank, Andy Harries, along with the show’s creative director and production designer, answered questions from attendees, lending credibility to the rumors swirling around the future of the show. The panelists confirmed the new cast members of the show, including Bonham Carter taking over the role of Princess Margaret, previously played by Vanessa Kirby. According to Harries, the upcoming season will be the true test of the series.
Seasons 3 and 4 will be the test of whether the show really has the legs to survive. I think we were the first television series ever to change cast and continue, and we will change cast twice. It’s daunting but exciting and I hope it’ll keep the series fresh and really of interest to people.
Filming on the new season will begin in July, and there will surely be more re-cast announcements coming, considering no one has announced who will portray the older Prince Phillip. We also have an entire new generation of royals to cast, as Season 3 will move into the Camilla Parker-Bowles era, and the royal children will experience the magic that is rapid aging syndrome as tiny toddlers are suddenly in their near-twenties! We look forward to the new season with Bonham Carter, who we know could potentially be the best thing to happen to the series going forward!
Christine Jones, who has beautifully designed the set of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, has taken on one of the world’s most famous musical icons. It was announced last week that Jones would be designing the set for a new musical production called The Cher Show alongside famed costume designer Bob Mackie, who has a long-lasting relationship with the singer. The Cher Show is set to debut in Chicago on June 12 at the Oriental Theatre. The musical will then open in the fall on Broadway in New York City and will take fans on a music-filled ride highlighting Cher’s life and career through the years. Congratulations, Christine!
If you enjoyed the previous adaptations of Philippa Gregory’s novels The White Queen and The White Princess, both of which aired on Starz, you’ll enjoy the latest addition to the cable network. Cursed Child producer Colin Callender has signed on to the new series The Spanish Princess as an executive producer. No casting has been announced at this time, but we know that the series will explore the history of Catherine of Aragon, who married King Henry VIII.
David Tennant (Barty Crouch, Jr.) has joined the new comedy series Camping, which will air on HBO. The series is based on an already-aired series in the UK. He will star as Walt, alongside Jennifer Garner’s Kathryn. Walt and Kathryn, a married couple who appear happy to the outside world, have their marriage tested when they set out on Walt’s birthday weekend for some nature-filled fun. Production on Camping is set for the spring and will film in Los Angeles.
Congrats are also in order for Tennant and his Duck Tales costars, as it was announced this weekend that the series was nominated for a Daytime Emmy, thanks to its premiere episode! The awards will be given out on April 29 in an untelevised ceremony. A full list of the nominees can be found here.
Filming on Official Secrets, which stars Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), has reportedly begun. Official Secrets follows whistle-blower Katharine Gun, played by Keira Knightly, who released top secret documents that revealed a spying operation focused on UN Security Council members by US and UK agents that led to the sanction of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Fiennes will portray Ben Emmerson in the film, though not much else is known about the role or when the production will premiere to audiences.
Devon Murray (Seamus Finnigan) has added music video star to his long list of talents! Singer Simonna posted a tweet some months back, showing off the official video for her single Every Time You Need Me, and it just so happens to star our favorite Potter firebug! While the video on YouTube shows a posting date of November 2017, this is the first we’ve heard about it. Devon certainly looks to be enjoying himself and the sunny rays. Please also notice he’s still sporting the Gryffindor colors (and playing with fire, just like you would expect Seamus to!) as you check out Devon’s musicality below!
The trailer for Sir John Hurt‘s (Garrick Ollivander) final film, That Good Night, was released this week, making us miss him all over again. Hurt is an acting legend, and we are very eager to see his final role as ailing screenwriter Ralph Maitland, which sadly slightly echoes Hurt’s own illness. You can check out the trailer below, and make sure to show your love and support by heading out to watch That Good Night when it is released on May 11.
A new biopic is currently filming in the UK and will star Sir Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore) as Bernard Delfont, a theater manager in London who turned the London Hippodrome into a nightclub called Talk of the Town. Judy, which follows the decline of Judy Garland’s career after her final concerts in London, also stars Renee Zellweger as the titular character, with costumes by Potter designer Jany Temime. Here’s a synopsis of the project:
Set in winter 1968, the story takes place 30 years after Garland played the iconic role of Dorothy in ‘The Wizard Of Oz’. When she arrives in Swinging London to prepare for a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town, she battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon to be fifth husband. And yet Garland is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids.
The first trailer for Terminal, in which Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) stars as a character named Lenny, was released this week. We still aren’t sure what to think about Matt’s involvement since we don’t see him in the actual trailer, but color us intrigued! Check it out below!
Here’s the official synopsis for Terminal, which is set to release on May 11.
In the dark heart of a sprawling, anonymous city, TERMINAL follows the twisting tales of two assassins carrying out a sinister mission, a teacher battling a fatal illness, an enigmatic janitor and a curious waitress leading a dangerous double life. Murderous consequences unravel in the dead of night as their lives all intertwine at the hands of a mysterious criminal mastermind hell-bent on revenge.
Finally, we wrap up this week’s Casting News with some great news for acting students in NYC. Actress Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley) will be participating in a Master Class on March 27 at Theatre Row through United Solo. This isn’t like anything you’ve ever done before – participants are asked to prepare a short piece of text, in any style, to perform during the class. They will receive feedback not just from others attending, but also from Shaw herself, who had this to say about solo acting in the theater:
Once you’ve done one style, you leave it for a while. Theater is dangerously open to repetition. It’s exciting when you hit on a new way. The energy released by it is enormous and it becomes quite addictive, the power between the audience and the actor.
Acting Styles with Fiona Shaw is open to all levels of theatrical experience, and you can register now to attend. Space is limited, so make sure you pre-register to reserve your spot!
We hope you enjoyed exploring the upcoming projects with us this week. Return next week to find out who will be taking on King Lear, who will be donning the crown of King Richard, and who will be fighting against the most awful auntie you’ve ever met!
