Imelda Staunton Is Returning As Harry Potter Villain Dolores Umbridge, But There's A Twist

One of the most notorious villains in the Wizarding World is making an unexpected return. Imelda Staunton is reprising her role as Dolores Umbridge in the "Harry Potter" universe. But it's not going to be in a new movie or even the upcoming TV series in the works for the Max streaming service. Instead, Staunton will be part of the new "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic" ride coming to Universal Orlando next year.

The news was announced via a new promotional video released by Universal, which includes choice bits of footage of Staunton filming her new scenes as the famed "Harry Potter" villain against a green screen. In the video, Assistant Director Anisha Vyas Burgos called Staunton "absolutely brilliant," with the actress returning to the universe for the first time since appearing in "The Deathly Hallows: Part 1" back in 2010. Burgos also added, "She got to take Umbridge to the extreme."

While nobody can top Voldemort so far as baddies go in the Wizarding World, Dolores Umbridge was absolutely unlikable and one of the series' greatest villains. Her return in the ride has to do with a trip to the British Ministry of Magic for Umbridge's trial. As fans will surely recall, Ubridge was imprisoned in Azkaban for her crimes. Not to spoil the new ride or anything, but as one might guess, she's not just going to go quietly.

Staunton has kept busy in the years since leaving the Wizarding World, including her role as the late Queen Elizabeth II on Netflix's "The Crown." She's an accomplished actress who doesn't exactly have trouble finding work. But this ride represents a way to bring her back into the fold. Staunton had previously cast doubt on her return to the "Harry Potter" universe. The actress appeared in a total of three of the films, including "The Order of the Phoenix" and "The Half-Blood Prince."

So, what is this new ride going to entail, exactly? Universal promises "powerful storytelling and first-of-its-kind ride technology" for the "Ministry of Magic" experience. The video also explains that the ride will take fans through previously unexplored locations, such as the Ministry of Archives and the Department of Magical Creatures. In a press release, Universal provided the following description of the ride:

The adventure begins when guests travel by Métro-Floo – a unique mode of wizarding transit inspired by the iconic Floo Network seen in the films – to journey from wizarding Paris to the British Ministry of Magic for the long-awaited trial of the infamous Dolores Umbridge. Upon arrival, guests will enter the Ministry's jaw-dropping grand atrium and venture through other departments before boarding magical, omnidirectional lifts to watch the trial take place ... until Umbridge attempts to escape. Guests then join Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and a house-elf named Higgledy in a thrilling chase that will propel them up, down, forward, backward, sideways and more throughout the Ministry as they try to capture Umbridge – all while dodging attacks from Death Eaters, rampaging creatures and more along the way.

This is just the latest example of Universal and Warner Bros. trying to further capitalize on the enduring popularity of "Harry Potter." The biggest upcoming project is the aforementioned "Harry Potter" TV show for Max, which is planned to run for a full decade, adapting all of J.K. Rowling's books, one per season. It's extremely ambitious, to say the least of it. More than anything, it gives WB a way to keep the IP alive after the relative failure of the "Fantastic Beasts" trilogy.

"The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic" ride opens at the Universal Epic Universe theme park in Orlando in 2025.