Harry Potter fans left conflicted as major star from films set to return to the franchise but there's a catch

Harry Potter fans have been left conflicted as a major star from the films set to return to the franchise - with a twist.

Last week, HBO announced it had found its famous trio of Hogwarts students to play the lead parts in its new, upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout is set to become the new Ron Weasley, in the parts that catapulted Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint to global fame when the then youngsters took on the roles in the early 2000s.

The new trio join a star-studded line-up, with Nick Frost set to play Rubeus Hagrid, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore and Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall.

Clearly, HP stans aren't letting the story go anytime soon and the Potterverse continues to snowball - and now, one star from the original movies is set to reappear some 19 years after the finale aired.

However, this time, the British actor, now 37, won't be making it onto the big screen as such, and rather onto the big stage.

Perhaps a little old to play the part of the wizard school boy and bleach-blonde arch nemesis of Harry Potter in any TV or film remakes, Tom Felton has announced he will instead make his Broadway debut to play his famed character, Draco Malfoy.

The actor is set to reprise his role more than a decade since we heard him famously splutter 'Potter' on the grand castle stairs when the pair met for the first day of school, this time playing as Malfoy in the acclaimed stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

The story has been written by Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne and devised with the author of the original books, JK Rowling.

The plot is set almost two decades into the future, leading on from the last movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and following the story of Harry's second son, Albus Severus Potter.

Reacting to being a part of the theatre production, Felton said, as per The Guardian: "Being a part of the Harry Potter films has been one of the greatest honours of my life.

"Joining this production will be a full-circle moment for me."

However, the news has left some fans shaken, as one wrote: "That’s actually pretty magical—seeing Tom Felton step back into Draco’s shoes after all these years feels like a full-circle moment.

"Broadway’s about to get a serious dose of Slytherin charm!"

"Amazing!" wrote another, "They should do the whole original cast just for the fun of it."

Dozens more joked that he is old enough - and looks the part - to play Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, in the new HBO reboot.

"Imagine being Tom Felton being perfectly cast and playing Draco in Harry Potter to 25 years later to be perfect to play Lucius in the reboot," said one.

"He is old enough and it would be more funny to play Lucius Malfoy!" chimed another.

Felton is now preparing to join the cast at New York's Lyric theatre from November 11 for a 19-week run of the show.

The play’s producers, Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, said his return presents a 'cultural moment charged with nostalgia, evolution, and emotion.'

"We can’t wait to see him inhabit this role once again with the same depth, gravity, and humanity he has always brought to Draco," they added.