Part 12/17:
This controversy is compounded by the absence of confirmed cast members for other pivotal roles, with reports indicating that filming may commence in mid-2025. The process involves nearly 32,000 auditions with practices like casting children as young as nine or ten—intended to capture their characters at age eleven. However, industry insiders warn that casting very young actors complicates scheduling and risks long delays, potentially leading to concerns about aging out of roles or even the offbeat joke of casting older actors and pretending they’re still students.