Harry Potter fans make sad point as new HBO series faces major backlash
It's not set to land for another nine months, and the TV adaptation of the Harry Potter book series has already been plagued by controversy.
Both the big-name cast and behind-the-scenes crew have been subjected to ceaseless backlash since 2021, when HBO bosses announced a full 10-year production schedule.
In keeping with author J.K. Rowling's timeframe for the book franchise, a new season of the series will land every year for the next decade, following Harry, Ron and Hermione as they progress through Hogwarts School, and take on some of the Wizarding World's darkest forces.
The series will kick off with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which is set to be released on Christmas Day 2026.
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Ever since first teasing the series' premise, casting directors have been sporadically announcing who'll take on some of cinema history's best-loved characters, especially given that the original 00s film series was able to entice such A-list talent.
As a reminder, the likes of Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs, Helen McCrory, Gary Oldman, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis and Julie Walters appeared in what many fans now consider to be the 'OG adaptation' of Rowling's work.
Why has the television series proven so controversial?
Contentious casting
Unfortunately, however, the cast of the upcoming television version immediately proved a source of contention amongst numerous 'Potterheads'.
Some claimed the newly announced names would never live up to the film portrayals that came before them, whilst others complained about the differences in these actors' characterisation, compared to the descriptions included in Rowling's books.
Sadly, the latter has proven the case for Ghanian-English actor, Paapa Essiedu - especially since the first trailer for the production landed earlier this week.
The 35-year-old was announced as the new Professor Snape - a role previously held by the late great Alan Rickman - last April.
Discussing the production with Variety last week, Essiedu claimed he'd been subjected to death threats from 'passionate fans' of the book, many of whom have seemingly taken issue with a Black actor landing the role.
"So for any show like that, we anticipated it and tried to have training, you know, best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it," he explained at the time. "And obviously, we’ve got a serious security team.
"So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen, and we just try to be as careful as we can."
Essiedu continued: "I’ve been told, ‘Quit, or I’ll murder you.' The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, 'I’m going to come to your house and kill you.'"
J.K. Rowling's anti-trans stance
A number of critics were also quick to boycott the series after it was announced that Rowling, who has faced considerable backlash in recent years for her increasingly extreme remarks about transgender people, would sit in as an executive producer.
Among the 60-year-old author's most controversial comments were a public criticism of the term 'people who menstruate', after it was used in an essay to include trans and non-binary individuals.
She also tweeted in 2024: "There are no trans kids. No child is 'born in the wrong body'. There are only adults like you, prepared to sacrifice the health of minors to bolster your belief in an ideology..."
Some former fans of Rowling have since turned their backs on her work, many of whom are criticising the cast of the television adaptation for agreeing to work on the project alongside her.
Being hit by some of this backlash, recently announced Albus Dumbledore (previously played by Michael Gambon and Richard Harris) actor, John Lithgow, admitted it almost spurred him to quit the show.
What kept him involved, he went on to claim, was his belief that Rowling's books are 'clearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry', as per The New York Times.
Lithgow also acknowledged at the time: "Every interview I will ever do for the rest of my life, this will come up."
Nick Frost, who was announced last year as the new Rubius Hagrid - a role previously held by Robbie Coltrane - also spoke out after being subjected to mass criticism for his acceptance of the role.
"She’s allowed her opinion, and I’m allowed mine – they just don’t align in any way, shape or form," he insisted.
Concerns for the kids
Given all of the above, as well as Rowling's role on the show, some fans of the franchise have expressed concerns for the child actors cast by HBO bosses, predicting they'll be thrown into wider criticism they could struggle to handle.
As a reminder, the series sees Dominic McLaughlin take on the titular role, with Arabella Stanton playing Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout cast as Ron Weasley.
"I just feel bad for the child actors who are going to get swept up in this," one Reddit user wrote online. "The producers and casting directors who did this are scummy as hell."
Another agreed: "Oh s**t good point. Yeah, their careers are now gonna be off to a rocky start once this series gets cancelled."
"They're going to get constantly s**t on either online or irl more 99% of people in their lifetime," a third went on.
Greyscale grievances
On the more technical side, following the release of the trailer, a number of social media users criticised the colouring of the series, compared to the film franchise.
Sharing a side-by-side comparison of McLaughlin as Potter alongside a baby-faced Daniel Radcliffe - who played the main character through the eight original films - one X user asked: "Why have they added an adolescence colour grade to it?? Does anyone remember COLOUR?"
Another hit out: "I’m gonna go insane if they remake Harry Potter and make everything grey and dull AGAIN! The first movie was one of the few that actually had some colour in it!"
The same user went on to ask: "What is the fun in imagining a magical world that always looks this dull???"
A third went on: "Against all odds, I was fully unprepared for just how off-putting and uncomfortable this would be to watch.
"Something about seeing such a classically-crafted, iconic film series translated into the aesthetics of a modern HBO prestige streamer show just feels uncanny valley wrong."
Topics: Harry Potter, TV And Film, Entertainment, Celebrity, JK Rowling
Rhianna Benson