Harry Potter Season 2 Casts Dobby, Tom Riddle and a New Ginny Weasley

HBO is already building the second year of its Harry Potter television adaptation, and three characters central to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets now have actors attached. Lenny Rush will play Dobby, Billy Barratt has been cast as the teenage Tom Riddle, and Bonnie Hill will take over the role of Ginny Weasley from Season 2 onward.

The casting arrives months before viewers see the first season. HBO’s opening season, based on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, is scheduled to premiere on December 25, 2026. The early Season 2 announcements underline how far ahead the production is planning as it moves through J.K. Rowling’s books.

Dobby and Tom Riddle join the second-year story

Rush takes on Dobby, the house-elf whose attempt to keep Harry away from Hogwarts becomes one of the first major threads in Chamber of Secrets. The actor’s previous credits include Doctor Who and Enola Holmes 2. In the original Warner Bros. films, Dobby was a computer-generated character voiced by Toby Jones, but HBO has not detailed how the new series will technically realize the character on screen.

Barratt will portray the younger Tom Riddle, a role with obvious importance to the wider story. Barratt has appeared in Apple TV+ series Invasion and the horror film Bring Her Back. HBO’s casting announcement places him in Season 2, where Riddle becomes directly connected to the mystery unfolding at Hogwarts.

Ginny Weasley is being recast after Season 1

The other significant change is Ginny Weasley. Bonnie Hill will play Ron Weasley’s younger sister beginning with the second season, replacing Gracie Cochrane, who filmed the character for Season 1. Reporting around the announcement says Cochrane stepped away after the first season due to unforeseen circumstances.

The timing makes the recast especially notable because Ginny has a much larger role in the second book than she does in the first. Chamber of Secrets puts her close to the central mystery, so Hill is stepping into the character just as Ginny becomes substantially more important to the plot.

HBO is preparing Season 2 before the series premieres

The new additions join a cast led by Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. HBO previously confirmed the trio in May 2025, describing the television project as a faithful adaptation of Rowling’s books. Francesca Gardiner writes and executive produces the series, while Mark Mylod is an executive producer and directs multiple episodes.

Variety reports that the first season has wrapped and that Season 2 is in pre-production at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden operation outside London. That gives HBO a head start on the next book even though the public has yet to see a full season of the new cast in action.

There is no confirmed premiere date for Season 2 yet. For now, the firm dates and casting details concern the first season’s December 25 launch and the newly announced Dobby, Tom Riddle and Ginny Weasley actors for the follow-up.

What the new casting tells us

The three roles are more than background additions. Dobby drives Harry back toward danger, Tom Riddle sits at the heart of the second book’s mystery, and Ginny’s story becomes inseparable from that mystery. Casting all three this early is therefore a practical sign that HBO is moving beyond broad renewal plans and into the character work required for its Chamber of Secrets adaptation.

It also means the series is beginning to establish its own versions of characters strongly associated with the films. The new production has repeatedly mixed experienced performers with younger actors and newcomers, and Season 2 is continuing that approach rather than simply leaning on familiar names.