Domhnall Gleeson and Gayle Rankin face each other outdoors in The Incomer

Why Domhnall Gleeson’s ‘The Incomer’ Riffs on Lord of the Rings Instead of Harry Potter

ByThe House Elves at Aguamenti

When you have been both a Weasley and a First Order general, a couple of franchises are off the table.

Domhnall Gleeson — Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2 — has explained why his new film, The Incomer, steers well clear of Hogwarts. In one scene his character spins a comic, made-up retelling of a fantasy epic, and when the production was working through copyright, director Louis Paxton wanted to avoid the other giant franchises. Because Gleeson had appeared in both Harry Potter and Star Wars, he told SYFY Wire, “those two were immediately ruled out” — so the film went with The Lord of the Rings instead.

Domhnall Gleeson, with curly hair and a straw cape, faces Gayle Rankin on a grey Scottish hillside in a still from The Incomer
Domhnall Gleeson as Daniel and Gayle Rankin as Isla in The Incomer. (Sumerian Pictures)

The Incomer is a folk fairy tale set on a remote Scottish island, where siblings Isla and Sandy (Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke) hunt seabirds, talk to mythical creatures and keep outsiders away. Gleeson plays Daniel, an awkward council worker sent to move them to the mainland. It won the NEXT Innovator Award at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

Gleeson also shared that he got a real perm in Dublin to give Daniel a bigger silhouette, and that filming in the Scottish sea was so cold he counts pretending not to be freezing as some of his best acting in the film.

It is not the first time he has been asked about the Wizarding World this press tour. Earlier this month he told SYFY Wire he would not be offering advice to the new HBO cast, comparing it to actors taking on Hamlet: each new version of a character belongs to whoever is playing it now.

When You Can See It

  • UK and Ireland: in cinemas since September 4, 2026
  • US: in select theaters from Friday, September 25, 2026
  • Runtime: 102 minutes; rated R in the US
  • Also starring: Emun Elliott, Michelle Gomez and John Hannah

Meanwhile, the next generation of Weasleys arrives when Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premieres on HBO and HBO Max on December 25.

Will you be catching The Incomer this weekend? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to follow along for more Harry Potter news.

Source: SYFY Wire

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