‘Harry Potter’ show trolled for ‘race swapping’ Snape: ‘Harry is now suspicious his dad bullied a Black kid’

The first teaser for ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was recently released, exciting fans worldwide. While the HBO show has largely been greeted with anticipation, the teaser reignited a controversy that makers had hoped would die down with time: that over Paapa Essiedu’s casting as the beloved but grumpy Professor Severus Snape.

While previously possessive fans were upset over the replacement of Alan Rickman’s role as the Potions Professor with another actor who did not carry the same aura, this time the controversy is much larger and more about the plot.

Core of the controversy: Plot vs Inclusivity

According to numerous readers of the famous J. K. Rowling book series and viewers of the acclaimed movie series, while Essiedu may be talented for the part, the choice of a black actor as Snape would rather embed racism into the story than just be inclusive.




As per the lore, Harry is consistently suspicious of the ambiguous Snape’s motives, considering his harsh treatment towards him and his past as a Death Eater. Snape is often spotted at the epicentres of trouble in Hogwarts, bullies Harry and is known as the follower of Slytherin leader (he who must not be named), Voldemort.

Moreover, the two characters share a personal connection through Harry’s mother Lily Potter, with whom Snape was best friends and always loved from afar. Harry’s father James is also known to have bullied Snape during their time together at the school. James and his friends hexed Snape, nicknamed him ‘Snivellus’ and hung him upside down.

Fans raise miscasting issues

In the books, Rowling has described Snape as a man with “sallow” skin, a large “hooked” nose and “shoulder-length, greasy black hair.” Thus, the character arc in the movies was accepted by fans and adored enough for them to gross $7.7 billion.

However, in the series, with Snape being a black actor, fans are citing a miscast for more than just the character, it is about the arc. “This miscast of Snape in Harry Potter is a good example of race swapping changing an entire story. If Snape is Black, despite books saying he’s White, then Harry is now suspicious that the only Black teacher at Hogwarts is stealing and his Dad bullied a Black kid by hanging him,” wrote a user on X. They added that this introduces the idea of racism in the story and strays from the source where James was not a racist.

“It completely changes the way in which some will view James Potter. They refuse to admit that in the world, a traditional bully, especially a young one, is not viewed the same as a racist bully. Bullies can be viewed as misguided but redeemable. Much of the reason Slytherin is seen as bad is because they prioritise the importance of pure blood. A similar form of bigotry. Someone who hates based on the colour of someone's skin will be viewed as irrevocably broken. It adds more baggage than could ever be worth the trouble for the show,” added another.

“Will new audiences be asking if Harry is suspicious of Snape because he's the only overtly black-coded teacher now? Yet another example of woke ideology being accidentally more racist than the past Hermione being black and getting called a mudblood is another 'choice'” one claimed.

For the children of the 90s and 2000s, Harry Potter was a simple story, one of childhood friendships, innocent rivalries and the larger victory of good over evil. However, as critics argue, this time the story seems to be purposefully pushing a “woke” propaganda, introducing young children who would be watching it for the first time to heavy concepts and ideologies of racism, discrimination and more.

Is HBO rage-baiting Harry Potter fans?

Here, an old trick from the hat of the media industry also comes into play. Indian-origin content creator, Aakash Gupta, recently took to X to point out that Warner Bros. has “run this playbook before.” “The internet raged when Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker. When Daniel Craig was cast as Bond. When Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, each of those performances became the definitive version of the character,” he added.

HBO is reportedly spending $100 million per episode to reboot Harry Potter. The budget is high because so will be the returns from merchandising, theme parks and streaming revenue.

Essiedu was one of the first actors to be cast for the project. His casting controversy has generated more press for the show than any marketing campaign could buy, pointed Gupta. “Every article about the death threats includes the trailer link. Every outrage tweet puts the show back in people’s timelines. 13M views on this single tweet are proof,” he added.

And whether for the love of the plot or to be able to find more content to troll the makers over, in a world consistently ruled by controversies, people are still going to watch the series. “The people threatening him over Instagram DMs are going to watch the show anyway. That’s the part they’ll never admit,” Gupta concluded.

Thus, for wokeness or rage-bait, whatever it may be, the casting may actually end up benefiting HBO more than causing grave loss. Those who need to be considered are the children who will be watching the show.

While the awareness is important, some stories like Harry Potter could be more about magic than about meaning. Otherwise, why would one even believe in the existence of Hogwarts and the hope that they would be sitting under the sorting hat one day, silently begging to be placed in Gryffindor?