Source: Entertainment Weekly

The magic of Harry Potter is continuing into a TV series, and Rupert Grint has given his full support to the new young actor taking over his previous role as Ron Weasley.

Grint, 37, revealed that he reached out to Alastair Stout, who will play Ron in HBO’s upcoming TV adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s young adult series.

“I wrote him a letter, before they started [filming],” Grint told BBC News. “Passing the baton, as it were.”

While Grint — who starred in all eight Harry Potter movies as part of the original trio of wizards — “can’t remember exactly” what he wrote in his letter to Stout, it was “something to that effect” of feeling “really happy for him,” and that the TV series is “really exciting.”

“I’m really intrigued [about] what it’s going to be like,” Grint said. “It’s quite strange, having it, the cycle, happen again. I had so much fun stepping into this world, and I hope he has the same experience.”

Stout, along with Dominic McLaughlin (who will play Harry) and Arabella Stanton (who will play Hermione Granger), was cast in the series in May. When Grint heard the casting news, it “took me straight back [to] when we first got the parts.”

Grint added, “It was a big thing. I still remember every second of it. It’s a big moment, and I just want him to enjoy it.”

As for Stout’s red hair and freckles, which are required to play a Weasley, Grint joked, “There’s a bit of family resemblance.”

Last week, Daniel Radcliffe also revealed that he had reached out to the young actor taking over his titular role via a letter.

“I know a few people that are working on the production, so I wrote to Dominic and I sent him a letter, and he sent me a very sweet note back,” Radcliffe said during an appearance on Good Morning America, but added, “I do not want to be a specter in the lives of these children at all.”

In his letter, Radcliffe said that he expressed, “I hope you have the best time, and an even better time than I did. I had a great time, but I hope you have an even better one.”

HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series (currently in production) is from showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod, both also executive producers, and will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max. It has been billed as a faithful adaptation, expanding each of Rowling’s seven books into individual seasons.

“I think it’s great that it’s a whole new thing,” Grint said. “It’s going to be its own thing, and I think that will be fun.”

Other cast members include: John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Janet McTeer as Minvera McGonagall, Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, Louise Brealey has Madame Hooch, and Anton Lesser as Ollivander. Franchise alum Warwick Davis, who played Professor Filius Flitwick across all eight Harry Potter films, is reprising his role for the HBO series.

Rowling has become a controversial figure in recent years due to her vocal transphobic views shared on social media. She is also attached to the project as an executive producer, and revealed that she “worked closely” with the writers’ room. However, HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys assured that the series would not be “secretly infused” with anti-trans rhetoric and that Rowling was ultimately “entitled” to her own views.

“I’ve said this before, but the decision to be in business with J.K. Rowling is not new for us,” Bloys said earlier this year. “We’ve been in business for 25 years. I think it’s pretty clear those are her personal political views. She’s entitled to them. And if you want to debate her, you can go on Twitter.”

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