REVEALED: All-star cast of new Harry Potter audio series
Fans of the Harry Potter book and film series will soon be treated to a large scale audio production of all seven books, starring British actors Hugh Laurie as Dumbledore and Matthew MacFadyen as Voldemort.
A collaboration between Audible and Pottermore Publishing, Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions will feature 200 actors and is considered to be 'the most ambitious audiobook cast ever assembled'.
The famed stories, penned by renowned author J.K. Rowling, will come to life through high-quality Dolby Atmos sound design, original music, and the A-list cast.
Among the star-studded line-up are Academy Award winner Riz Ahmed as Professor Snape, BAFTA nominee Michelle Gomez as Professor McGonagall, and Cush Jumbo OBE as the narrator.
Playing the popular trio of young wizards will be Frankie Treadaway as Harry Potter, Max Lester as Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, who will all feature in audiobooks 1-3 before being replaced by more mature voices. Cast members of the latest Harry Potter audiobook production have been announced. Credit: Audible / Pottermore Publishing
Stanton's connection to the Potter juggernaut is only set to rise, following her casting as Hermione in the forthcoming HBO TV series, which began filming in July.
The TV reboot also features established actors John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, and Anton Lesser as Ollivander.
Industry veteran Laurie, known for his work in TV's House, and Blackadder, said he was grateful to be playing such an iconic character, albeit that will not appear on screen.
'I'm honoured to have been trusted with the keys to Albus Dumbledore, and thrilled to be able to take him around the track of this beautiful incarnation by Pottermore and Audible,' he said.
'I'm also deeply conscious of previous drivers Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, Jude Law and the iconic narrations by Jim Dale and my colleague Sir Stephen Fry. Just below the horizon, but headed our way, is the rough beast John Lithgow, his hour come round at last.
'This is great company, and it's a privilege to be among their number.' Hugh Laurie will voice Albus Dumbledore. Credit: Steffan Hill / BBC/The Forge/Steffan Hill
As referenced by Laurie, the newest iteration of audiobooks follows the original single-voice narrations by Jim Dale and Stephen Fry, which were first released in 1999.
Since being made available on Audible in 2015, the classic recordings have amassed an unprecedented 1.8 billion global listening hours on the platform.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will naturally be the first audiobook released of the newest batch, scheduled for November 4, with each proceeding story to follow at monthly intervals.
Further cast members will be announced in the coming months.
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