Harry Potter Gets New Headmaster At Hogworts

Michael Gambon

Michael Gambon, who picked up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his virtuoso performance as Lyndon Johnson in HBO's Path to War, will be donning the robes as Dumbledore for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, according to a source familiar with the production.

Following Harris' death from cancer in October, there had been much speculation over who would take over the role, with leading candidates supposedly including McKellen and even Harris' stand-in. But McKellen never seriously considered the role (he's already done the franchise thing with The Lord of the Rings and X-Men) and producers ultimately went with Gambon, a classically trained actor who studied with Laurence Olivier and whose credits include Gosford Park, The Insider and the lead in the British miniseries The Singing Detective.

Although the exact terms of Gambon's deal are not known, he'll presumably play Dumbledore in the remaining Potter films. Aside from Prisoner of Azkaban, Warner Bros. is committed to turning Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into a film. J.K. Rowling's still-in-the-works Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the two planned but untitled final installments are also likely destined for celluloid, but no timetable is in place.