Peter Serafinowicz Is Officially HBO’s Peeves the Poltergeist

ByThe House Elves at Aguamenti

Peeves is finally getting his moment — and Aguamenti readers saw it coming. Peter Serafinowicz has officially been cast as Peeves the Poltergeist in HBO’s “Harry Potter” series, Variety reports, confirming the PopBitch leak we covered last month.

Back in June we flagged the rumor with the usual caveats; now it’s the real thing. Peeves, the mischief-making spirit who terrorizes the Hogwarts corridors, never appeared in a single one of the original films — making this the first time fans will actually see him on screen.

That last part carries a bittersweet bit of Wizarding World lore. Peeves was originally set to appear in the movies, with British comedian Rik Mayall cast in the role. He even filmed scenes before the character was cut for time. Mayall, who died in 2014, hadn’t yet told his children he’d been dropped — and when they came home from the premiere raving about the makeup, they assumed he’d played Hagrid. “They thought I was playing Hagrid,” he once recalled.

Serafinowicz brings a deep comedy and voice résumé to the part. He recently appeared in last year’s live-action “How to Train Your Dragon,” played Edgar Covington on “Parks and Recreation,” and turned up as Denarian Saal in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” His voice credits stretch from Darth Maul in “Star Wars: Episode I” to Big Daddy in the “Sing” films.

Where things stand:

  • Premiere: this December, exclusively on HBO and HBO Max
  • Format: seven seasons planned, one book per season, built to “go deeper” than the films
  • Lead trio: Dominic McLaughlin (Harry), Arabella Stanton (Hermione), Alastair Stout (Ron)
  • Adult cast: John Lithgow (Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (McGonagall), Paapa Essiedu (Snape), Nick Frost (Hagrid)
  • Behind the scenes: Francesca Gardiner writes and showruns; Mark Mylod directs multiple episodes; Season 2 is now in production

Were you hoping Serafinowicz would land the role? Let us know in the comments, and don’t forget to follow along for the latest Harry Potter news.

Source: Variety

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