Johnny Flynn said NOW TV’s new Harry Potter series will run for 10 hours. The Lucius Malfoy actor made the remark at the London Film Festival, giving the reboot a much clearer scale before its Christmas 2026 launch on HBO and HBO Max.
Flynn is taking on Lucius Malfoy, a role Jason Isaacs played throughout the original film series. That 10-hour figure points to a longer adaptation than the films, which cut material from the books and left room for a more measured pace.
London Film Festival and 10 hours
Flynn’s comment matters because HBO has not set an official episode count or runtime. A 10-hour total could mean eight episodes, 10 episodes, or another structure altogether; the number changes how much of Harry Potter can fit on screen without the compression that shaped the films.
Johnny Flynn also described Lox Pratt as “fantastic, despite being Draco Malfoy.” He is joined by Dominic McLaughlin as Harry, Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron, with John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid.
Season 2 and Rafe Spall
Kit Harington will play Gilderoy Lockhart from Season 2, and Rafe Spall has joined as Arthur Weasley. Molly Hewitt-Richards will play Moaning Myrtle, Jasper Ambrose will play Colin Creevey, Lenny Rush will play Dobby, and Billy Barratt will appear as the young Tom Riddle.
The clean read is that HBO is signaling a larger swing than the films ever had, but Flynn’s 10-hour estimate is still a cast-side number, not a formal schedule. That leaves the series with a bigger canvas on paper and one basic question for viewers: how HBO divides those hours will decide how much of Harry Potter finally gets room to breathe.
