Dolores Umbridge actress Imelda Staunton returns to Harry Potter universe

Imelda Staunton is making a surprising return to the Wizarding World as the infamous Dolores Umbridge.

Per Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-nominated actress, who last appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 1 in 2010, is stepping back into her pink-clad villainous role for a new attraction at Universal’s Epic Universe.

The upcoming Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Ministry of Magic experience will feature Staunton in the centrepiece attraction, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, set to debut in 2025.

Staunton’s reprisal comes 14 years after her last portrayal of Umbridge, and she’s taking the character to new extremes. The attraction’s storyline places guests right in the heart of the British Ministry of Magic, where they’ll witness Umbridge’s trial. Of course, things don’t go as planned when Umbridge, ever the schemer, attempts to escape, causing chaos.

Staunton previously admitted she “didn’t think” she’d ever return to the Harry Potter franchise, telling Hello! magazine in a 2019 interview that she still likes to humour fans. 

“Of course I can scare people. I don’t get a lot of kids coming up to me actually. It’s the grown up kids — you want to say you are 35 — but they grew up with it,” she said, adding, “Harry Potter doesn’t stop, does it?”