John Lithgow is being eyed for iconic ‘Harry Potter’ role

John Lithgow, an award winning American actor, is in talks to take on an iconic role in the upcoming Harry Potter series.

According to a source that spoke to Deadline, he is in the final stages of negotiations to play Professor Albus Dumbledore.

HBO, when asked to comment, stated, “We appreciate that such a high-profile series will draw a lot of rumor and speculation. As we make our way through pre-production, we will only confirm details as we finalize deals.”

The series will be set up to run over a decade, and is being created by showrunner, Francesca Gardiner, and director Mark Mylod.

The Chairman and CEO of HBO, Casey Bloys said that the series would be a “faithful adaptation” of the books by J.K. Rowling at the time of the announcement, adding that it would “dive deep into each of the iconic books.”

Dumbledore had previously been portrayed by the late actor Richard Harris and then by Michael Gambon in the later Harry Potter movies.

A younger version of the character was played by Jude Law in the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.