Fans have spent months watching HBO slowly assemble an entirely new Wizarding World, but one of the biggest casting decisions remains hidden.Harry, Ron, and Hermione have their new faces. Dumbledore, Snape, Hagrid, and McGonagall are accounted for. Even another version of one of the franchise’s most dangerous characters has now joined the growing cast.Still, there is one name HBO has yet to officially reveal, and speculation surrounding the role continues to grow as the series gets closer.Now, one familiar Harry Potter actor has entered the online conversation in a way few fans would have expected.Robert Pattinson is being eyed as a possible candidate to become HBO’s new Lord Voldemort, roughly 20 years after he first entered the Wizarding World as Cedric Diggory.A Familiar Face Could Return Very DifferentlyPattinson joined the Harry Potter franchise when he portrayed Cedric in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).Of course, a potential return wouldn’t involve Cedric.Recent online reports, social media posts, and fan discussions have fueled speculation that Pattinson could be in consideration for the adult Lord Voldemort role in HBO’s television adaptation. For now, however, HBO has not announced Pattinson as Voldemort, and there has been no official confirmation that he has signed on.That distinction matters.At this stage, Pattinson belongs in the growing group of actors being discussed or rumored for the role rather than the confirmed cast. Still, it isn’t difficult to understand why his name has generated attention.More than two decades have passed since audiences watched Pattinson compete in the Triwizard Tournament. He has since built a very different career, including playing Bruce Wayne in The Batman (2022).Seeing the former Cedric Diggory return as the darkest wizard in the entire story would give HBO one of its most fascinating connections to the original film franchise.And HBO has already filled plenty of other important roles.Credit: DC StudiosHogwarts Already Has Plenty of New FacesThe central trio is officially set.Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, with Arabella Stanton taking over as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout playing Ron Weasley. HBO selected the three young actors following a massive casting search.Several of Hogwarts’ most recognizable adults have also been cast.John Lithgow will portray Albus Dumbledore, while Janet McTeer plays Minerva McGonagall. Paapa Essiedu takes over as Severus Snape, and Nick Frost will play Rubeus Hagrid. Luke Thallon has been cast as Quirinus Quirrell, with Paul Whitehouse playing Argus Filch.The wider cast continues to grow as well. Katherine Parkinson is Molly Weasley, Johnny Flynn is Lucius Malfoy, and Lox Pratt will portray Draco Malfoy. Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby have been cast as Petunia and Vernon Dursley.That means HBO has moved well beyond simply finding its three leads.More recently, the series even filled another role directly connected to Voldemort.Credit: HBOPart of the Mystery Has Already Been SolvedHBO has officially found its young Tom Riddle.Billy Barratt will portray Riddle during the portion of the story based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. His casting adds another major character to a series that continues to take shape ahead of its debut.That casting is particularly interesting because Tom Riddle is, of course, the younger version of the wizard who eventually becomes Lord Voldemort.However, Barratt’s casting doesn’t necessarily answer the larger question of who will portray the fully transformed Voldemort later in the series. The original movies similarly used different performers to portray the character at different ages and stages of his life.So while HBO has its younger Tom Riddle, fans are still waiting for He Who Must Not Be Named.And Pattinson is far from the only famous actor whose name has become attached to that conversation.Credit: Warner Bros.One Major Casting Announcement RemainsSpeculation over HBO’s adult Voldemort has produced a long list of recognizable names.Pattinson is among the latest actors to generate online attention, while Ralph Fiennes, Cillian Murphy, Bill Skarsgård, and Paul Bettany have all surfaced at various points in reports, rumors, fan-casting discussions, or speculation surrounding the role.Fiennes naturally carries special significance because he portrayed Voldemort throughout much of the original movie franchise. A return would create a direct bridge between the two adaptations, though HBO has promoted its television project as a fresh interpretation with a new cast.Murphy has also been repeatedly connected to Voldemort speculation, while actors such as Skarsgård and Bettany have appeared in the broader online casting conversation.Pattinson brings a different kind of connection to the role. Unlike most of the names under discussion, he already has a history with Harry Potter.That makes the idea of him returning more than 20 years after playing Cedric especially intriguing. Instead of reprising his original character, Pattinson would potentially return as the villain at the center of Harry’s entire story.For now, though, none of these possibilities amounts to an official HBO announcement.Credit: Warner Bros.HBO Still Has One Enormous Reveal LeftHBO’s Harry Potter series already has enough confirmed actors to give fans a strong idea of what its new Wizarding World will look like.Voldemort remains one of the biggest missing pieces.Pattinson would certainly be an attention-grabbing choice. His return would bring him back to the franchise roughly two decades after Cedric Diggory, while asking him to play a character who couldn’t be further removed from the heroic Hogwarts student audiences remember from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).It would also give the new series a surprising connection to the original movies without simply bringing Pattinson back to reprise his old role.For now, fans will have to keep waiting.Pattinson’s name may be circulating as a possible candidate for HBO’s Lord Voldemort, but until the network makes the casting official, He Who Must Not Be Named remains the actor who has yet to be named.The post ‘Harry Potter’ Update: Robert Pattinson Eyed for HBO’s New Lord Voldemort 20 Years Later appeared first on Inside the Magic.