It's been quite the week for the Harry Potter fandom, with the release of the first cast images from the upcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which will open for previews in London's West End from June 7th. With the familiar characters from J.K. Rowling's books and films now nineteen years older, it's fair to say they've changed quite a bit. First we had images of an adult Harry, his wife, Ginny, and their son, Albus. The Cursed Child will focus on Albus as he starts at Hogwarts and struggles to deal with the legacy of his father's name. After that came images of Ron, now married to Hermione, and their daughter, Rose. Now, we have the first image of Draco and his son, Scorpius.

Actor Alex Price, who plays Draco, will look familiar to many, having played roles in Doctor Who, Merlin, and Penny Dreadful. He also has an extensive background of theater work. His son is played by Anthony Boyle, a Belfast-based actor with a few theater credits to his name - though as with most of the child cast, he is still a relative unknown. Rowling has commented on how much the pair look alike and it's certainly quite remarkable.

Take a look at the images, below (via Pottermore).

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Alex Price as Draco Malfoy

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Anthony Boyle as Scorpius Malfoy

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Draco and Scorpius Malfoy

Rowling isn't giving anything away regarding either Draco or Scorpius' roles in the play, but since Scorpius is starting Hogwarts at the same time as Albus and Rose, it seems a safe bet that we might see a little of history repeating itself with Albus and Rose perhaps unwittingly making an enemy for themselves, just because of their parentage. That said, in the pictures Scorpius looks troubled and torn, so might we see a glimpse of light in the darkness? After all, Draco was almost (but not quite) a reformed character by the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

The actors also refused to give anything away regarding the show, but Price did speak of the tremendous pressure on the cast to get their characters right, and said that the script helped him to stay on the right path:

"Jack Thorne’s script. Start right there, and there’s obviously a massive history of books to draw on. You could tie yourself in knots worrying about it. But our first job is to serve this play and J.K. Rowling’s characters as best we can. The world outside has been brilliantly marshaled and been kept away from us by our producers. It’s only slowly starting to rear its head now and it’s intimidating, a little scary, but also very exciting because Jack is such a brilliant writer and he’s taken the story into a great place 19 years later, particularly for Draco."

Pottermore also released a behind the scenes video from the character photo shoot, and if you were unsure of whether Jamie Parker is up to playing Harry Potter, this should convince you. The actor seems to bear many similarities to both Harry and Daniel Radcliffe, and one can't help but feel that with Rowling's casting choices, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is in safe hands.

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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opens for previews at London's Palace Theatre on June 7th with the official opening in July. The book of the script will be released on July 31st.

Source: Pottermore