HBO's Harry Potter series has cast Peter Serafinowicz as Peeves the Poltergeist, according to Variety. The character featured prominently in the books, but not the films. The character was originally planned to be featured in the first film, but was cut out due to director Christopher Columbus being unsatisfied with what they had filmed.

Peeves is a mischievous, devilish ghost who wanders the halls of Hogwarts. Serafinowicz is solid casting for the role, as he's got strong comedic chops. It's unclear if Peeves will appear in Season 1 or if he will make his debut in the second season of the Harry Potter show, which is currently in pre-production and expected to begin filming this fall.

Nevertheless, the announcement serves as more evidence that the TV series appears to be living up to its promise of diving deeper into the source material. The movies left out a lot of characters and storylines from the books in order to squeeze everything into the typical running time of a feature film.

However, the TV show will have more elbow room, since it will be telling the story from the books over the course of eight seasons – with each season expected to be around eight to 10 hours long.

Serafinowicz is a prolific TV actor, although if you don't know him from his many small screen appearances you may recognize him from his role Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's flatmate Pete in Shaun of the Dead, or as The Sommelier in John Wick: Chapter 2. Serafinowicz is also a regular voice actor for animation and games, and will be appearing in upcoming action-driving game Clutch.

Harry Potter Season 1 will adapt 1997's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (published under the alternate title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US) and is slated to premiere on HBO this Christmas.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.