- Primary Subject: Harry Potter (HBO Reboot)
- Key Update: Ben Barnes expressed interest in playing Sirius Black in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter reboot despite not having official talks with HBO.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: September 4, 2026
- Quick Answer: Ben Barnes is open to playing Sirius Black in HBO's Harry Potter reboot, though no official talks have occurred yet for the role.
Ben Barnes has finally responded to Sirius Black casting rumors surrounding the upcoming Harry Potter reboot after being fancast for the role for nearly 20 years.
Ever since rumors surfaced that a Marauders series could be in the works, focusing on James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black, fans have wanted to see Barnes play Harry Potter’s godfather.
But with Warner Bros. reportedly scrapping the project, could there still be a chance for Barnes to join HBO's Harry Potter?
Could Ben Barnes Play Sirius Black in HBO’s Harry Potter Reboot?
Sirius Black may not appear in the Harry Potter series until it adapts the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, assuming the series will feature one book per season.
However, as HBO is already casting for Season 2, which will adapt Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, it may not be long before it shifts its focus to the third installment. So, will fans finally see Ben Barnes as Sirius Black this time?
“I feel like it would be a disservice to the millions of people who have messaged me, it’s probably twelve people, but it would be a disservice to them and all the years they’ve put into it to say that if they approached me about it, I wouldn’t want to be involved,” he told Us Magazine.
While the 45-year-old actor admitted he was open to the idea, he also clarified that he hadn’t officially spoken to anyone from HBO about it “yet.”
Barnes also revealed that he was aware of the fancasting, admitting that he had signed a number of Harry Potter books and Gryffindor scarves he received as gifts.
“The amount of, sort of, fan fiction that I’ve been drafted into very enthusiastically is incredible, and this is something that’s been going on…it’s been going on for twenty years that people have been very kindly saying that they would have liked me to have played a young version of this Sirius Black character in Harry Potter,” he said.
However, as time has passed and Barnes is now around the age of the actual character in the books, there may be little chance of fans seeing him as a young Sirius if the Marauders series ever gets the green light.
At least, though, he now has a chance to play the character in the Harry Potter reboot if given the opportunity.
Why Warner Bros. Reportedly Canceled the Marauders Series?
The name Marauders came from the title of the Marauder’s Map, which James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew created using their nicknames – Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs – under the name “Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers – the Marauders.”
The group was seen together in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix during Snape’s worst memory, which Harry himself witnessed through the Pensieve.
As fans clamored to see a spinoff focusing on these four, an unverified report claimed that Warner Bros. actually planned to develop a Marauders series for HBO Max in the early 2020s, with a full writers’ room ready to work on the first season.
However, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav reportedly canceled the project and opted to produce a Harry Potter reboot, which is now in progress.
Harry Potter will premiere on December 25 on HBO and HBO Max.
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