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The Harry Potter series from HBO has finally announced some key cast members, including the actors who are going to play Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. Though the primary roles — Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermoine Granger — have not been cast, it has been confirmed that John Lithgow will play Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer will take up Minerva McGonagall's role, Nick Frost will play Hagrid, and Paapa Essiedu will play Severus Snape.
While the rest of the casting did not cause a stir, fans are not very happy with the casting of Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, a role that was popularized by Alan Rickman in the film series. Paapa Essiedu's casting in Harry Potter has been a source of discussion since the confirmation came, with many claiming that the actor did not fit the role well.
Social media platforms like Reddit, X, and Instagram saw many reactions from fans, primarily aimed at the casting of Severus Snape, who remains one of the most interesting characters in the franchise.
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Reddit user agen_kolar, summed the dominant emotion up, saying:
"I mean no offense to him, but Paapa Essiedu as Snape is such a disappointment. I was hoping that rumor wouldn’t be true."
Other users also had similar things to say.
"He’s too casually handsome for it. I know Alan Rickman was handsome but that was a melancholy kind of handsome that suited to Snape," ClydeinLimbo added.
"It’s kinda hilarious that they wanted to make a show to be more faithful to the books, with more detail than the films etc etc, just to completely and utterly miscast one of the biggest characters," said expensivebreadsticks.
"The choice of Paapa Essiedu for Snape is way too familiar to the stunt Disney pulled with Rachel Ziegler as Snow White. Not optimistic about this at all," said RealDJPrism.
Despite the backlash, many remain positive about the Harry Potter series, primarily because HBO is known to be meticulous. Moreover, Paapa Essiedu is renowned for his acting ability and will perhaps be able to embody the character of Professor Snape quite well.
Who are the other cast members announced for Harry Potter?
Among the announced cast members, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, are the only series regulars.
The two other cast members confirmed for the Harry Potter series are Luke Thallon as Quirinus Quirrell and Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch. No other cast members have been confirmed yet, though many rumors have been going around for months now.
The Harry Potter series is still quite far away, and most developments surrounding it are pending. The show aims to be a "faithful adaptation" of the source material, something that the later movies, despite their critical acclaim, failed to achieve completely.
More details about the series are expected to arrive soon. Stay tuned for updates.
