NEW YORK (AP) — Rupert Grint — the original Ron Weasley from the “Harry Potter” movies — will slip into his old role on Broadway next year in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
Grint, who starred in all eight “ Harry Potter ” movies from 2001 to 2011, will join the play at the Lyric Theatre from Feb. 2 to May 30, 2027.
“Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life,” Grint said in a statement. “There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron’s shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new.”
It will mark the second time a member of the “Harry Potter” film cast has joined the stage production. This year, Tom Felton reprised his role of Draco Malfoy, seeing box office receipts jump.
The play picks up 19 years after the end of the final novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” An adult Potter is married to Ginny Weasley, sister of his best friend, Ron, who married brainy Hermione. Both couples have children and all are in danger again. Ron runs his own joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.
“His return creates a powerful bridge between the story audiences first fell in love with and the story of family, legacy and the passage of time that ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ carries forward,” producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender said in a statement.
Grint made his Broadway debut in the original production of “It’s Only a Play,” opposite Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. He made his West End debut in Jez Butterworth’s play “Mojo,” starring opposite Ben Whishaw.
FILE - Rupert Grint appears at a screening of the film "Knock at the Cabin" in London on Jan. 25, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday awarded Elon Musk Ukraine's Order of Freedom, one of its highest state honors, for his “outstanding personal merits” in protecting human life and freedom and strengthening ties with the United States.
Musk, the founder of the aerospace company SpaceX, has become one of the most influential, and contentious, private sector figures in Ukraine’s war effort. His decision to provide access to Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet network, was a lifeline for Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and remains critically important.
Starlink has become deeply embedded in Ukraine’s military operations, with commanders and soldiers relying on satellite connectivity to communicate and coordinate operations.
Musk’s decision-making could shape Ukraine’s future military capabilities. Starlink doesn't currently operate over Russian territory, but Zelenskyy wants Musk to reconsider the policy. That would allow Ukrainian forces to maintain satellite connectivity for longer-range drone attacks targeting Russia's military and economic infrastructure.
Musk made no immediate comment on the award, which was announced by presidential decree.
The technology has been integrated into Ukraine’s drone operations, helping operators maintain links with drones and navigate them over longer distances. Ukraine's access to Starlink is the main reason for the early successes of its middle-strike drone campaign, which caught Russian forces off guard and undermined their logistics lines earlier this year.
The campaign has put pressure on Russian logistics in Crimea, giving Ukrainian forces a degree of battlefield momentum that Kyiv has not enjoyed since its successful counteroffensives around Kherson and Kharkiv in late 2022.
Musk has allowed the Ukrainians to use Starlink inside their own territory, including in Russian-occupied regions, but has restricted use of the satellite system inside Russia.
Earlier this year, SpaceX blocked unauthorized Starlink terminals being used by Russian forces in occupied territory, strengthening Ukraine’s position.
Musk is both a crucial partner for Kyiv and a potential source of vulnerability. As Starlink has become embedded in its wartime communications, Musk and SpaceX have significant influence over how the technology can be used, making it important for Kyiv to preserve a positive relationship.
Zelenskyy has sought U.S. help in persuading Musk to permit Ukraine to expand its ability to use Starlink beyond its borders. Musk has said he believes that would be a significant and dangerous escalation, Zelenskyy told reporters last week.
A reported mix-up over whether SpaceX had approved Ukraine’s use of Starlink for operations inside Russia contributed to tensions between Zelenskyy and then-Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who was the government's main interlocutor with Musk.
Fedorov was dismissed in July as part of a broader government shake-up.
Zelenskyy said inaccurate information from the Defense Ministry that SpaceX had approved the bid had contributed to an awkward exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump, who accused the Ukrainian president of deceiving him. He did not say when that occurred.
That contributed to “some of the steps” taken against Fedorov, Zelenskyy told reporters last week, without explicitly accusing him of deliberately providing false information.
Federov's dismissal also highlights the political element of Musk’s role in Ukraine’s war effort.
FILE - Elon Musk departs after a welcome ceremony with President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, May 14, 2026, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talks with Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Horodetskyi House during their bilateral meeting in Kyiv, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (Henry Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)
