Sir Mark Rylance is reportedly being lined up to play Albus Dumbledore in the 'Harry Potter' series.
The 64-year-old actor is not believed to have entered officially negotiations with Warner Bros Television over the iconic role, but he's thought to be "top of the casting wishlist" for the upcoming adaptation of JK Rowling's iconic novels.
As reported by Variety, the studio has "reached out" to Rylance to "gauge interest and availability".
A representative for HBO told the outlet: "We appreciate that such a high profile series will draw a lot of rumour and speculation.
"As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalise deals.”
It's said Warner is looking to take influence from the feature films by casting some of the UK's best known actors in the adult roles, alongside newcomers as leads Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, who were played by Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
In the original movies, the likes of Richard Harris, Dame Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman were cast as Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape respectively.
Harris - who was 70 when he was cast - died two years later, and was replaced by Michael Gambon for the remaining films.
The original actor previously told The Guardian newspaper: "All I knew is that they kept offering me the part and raising the salary every time they called. I kept turning it down.
“Anyone involved has to agree to be in the sequels, all of them, and that’s not how I wanted to spend the last years of my life, so I said no over and over again.”
Rylance, 64, is a year younger than Smith was when she took on the role in Hogwarts, while anyone signing up to the show will be committing to seven seasons, with one planned for each book.
In September, an open casting call was launched to find a new trio to take on the parts of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
The casting call read: "We are currently only able to consider children who are aged 9-11 in April 2025, and a resident of the UK or Ireland.
"Please only apply if you meet the brief."
In the initial round of casting, candidates are invited to submit two self-taped audition videos in their native accent.
The first should be a short story or poem - "nothing from Harry Potter" - which lasts no longer than 30 seconds.
In the second clip, which can be up to a minute, they are asked: "Please record a short video telling us a bit about yourself, including your date of birth, height and where you live.
"In addition, please describe any family member, friend or pet that you are particularly close to."
