Draco Malfoy From HBO's Harry Potter Is The Star Of Another Major YA Novel Adaptation

IP continues to reign supreme and that means we'll soon be getting a "Harry Potter" TV series. It's sure to be met with both excitement and a collective sigh from those sick of the nostalgia-mad monoculture that produced a "Harry Potter" reboot show in the first place. The latter contingent might at least be interested to know that one of the actors in this latest Hollywood regurgitation is actually in a much more interesting project that, sadly, isn't available in the United States yet. Lox Pratt, who's set to play Draco Malfoy in the reboot, is currently starring as Jack in the BBC's new "Lord of the Flies" adaptation.

Back in June 2025, HBO confirmed the casting of several new key characters in the "Harry Potter" series, including the Malfoys. Among them was Pratt, who takes on the role previously played by Tom Felton in the movies. Interestingly enough, Draco Malfoy is really only Pratt's second major role. The 14-year-old has only appeared in one other production, that being the 2026 BBC series "Lord of the Flies."

Believe it or not, the show is the first TV series based on William Golding's 1954 novel, which is sort of amazing given the industry's penchant for adapting anything with a modicum of popularity. Based on the people involved and the series' reception thus far, however, it's a solid adaptation that was worth the wait. The four-episode show is directed by Marc Munden and written by Jack Thorne, who not only wrote the 2016 stage play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" but co-created the chilling limited series "Adolescence," which is easily one of the best Netflix Originals ever. Even without Pratt, then, "Lord of the Flies" is worth checking out.

There have been three "Lord of the Flies" films since William Golding first published his novel. That includes a 1990 effort that remains one of the best YA adaptations you probably haven't seen. The new series, however, was created for the BBC's streaming platform, iPlayer, and BBC One, with all four 60-minute episodes arriving on the former in February 2026. The show follows the plot of the book but breaks the narrative into four sections focused on the four main boys. Lox Pratt's Jack is the focus of the fourth installment.

For those yet to read the book and have thus far avoided being scarred by the disturbingly straightforward description of Piggy's fate, "Lord of the Flies" is about a group of young boys who become stranded on a remote island after their plane crashes. Ralph (played by Winston Sawyers in the TV adaptation) becomes a de facto leader for the boys and is backed up by his loyal friend Piggy (David McKenna). Soon, however, Ralph's attempts to unite the group are imperiled when Jack challenges their shaky pseudo-society. It's not long before a rift forms between Ralph's more level-headed group and Jack's barbarous tribe.

The BBC's "Lord of the Flies" show has a lot more than the "Adolescence" creator working in its favor. Much like the "Harry Potter" series recruiting a legendary composer for its score, Hans Zimmer contributed to the "Lord of the Flies" music, and veteran British TV director Marc Munden is overseeing the show. Then, there's Pratt, who as Jack is providing us all with a glimpse of how he might portray the similarly villainous Draco Malfoy when the "Harry Potter" series finally arrives.

Lox Pratt might be a newcomer but with "Lord of the Flies" and the "Harry Potter" series as his first two projects, he's off to an impressive start. The former has been well-received, managing an 80% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (though that's only based on five reviews). Still, the "top critic" reviews are all positive, with Anita Singh of the Daily Telegraph describing the miniseries as a "first-class example of an adaptation done right, and television breathing new life into a familiar story." The reviewer also described Pratt as "a star in the making" who successfully renders Jack's "vulnerability behind the bravado."

Speaking to 1883 magazine, Pratt explained how it was this aspect of the character that appealed to him. "One thing that I really enjoyed was how we have these really brilliant cracks when we see Jack in his vulnerable state," he said before talking about how that relates to his version of Draco Malfoy. "You get to see Draco at home," said Pratt of the upcoming series. "[...] there are some brilliant scenes at home where you start to get an insight into how he is. Similar to 'Flies,' I was grateful that we had the same freedom to explore these characters."

That at least bodes well for one aspect of the upcoming HBO series, though there are still several reasons why the "Harry Potter" show could flop. Once again, Pratt will play a notorious antagonist from the pages of beloved British literature, and once again it seems he'll be perhaps showing us some of the "vulnerability behind the bravado." Whether that will make the series worthwhile remains unclear, but Pratt certainly seems to have been a solid choice for Draco Malfoy.