Snape Casting and More Confirmed by Harry Potter Series Showrunner
Along With Other Prominent Professors
jesslind | Apr 14, 2025 |
The casting of Professor Severus Snape and other prominent professors in the new HBO Max Harry Potter series has officially been announced. However, there’s one aspect that has had many fans in a frenzy, disbelieving the official description that this show will be a “faithful adaptation… Exploring every corner of the Wizarding World, each season will bring Harry Potter and its incredible adventures to new and existing audiences.” Notice the absence of the term “modern audience,” which is typically a huge red flag when these studios describe film and television retellings, though it does not mean fans will not have their suspicions and doubts. Here is the announcement, via Variety:
“We are happy to announce the casting of John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon and Paul Whitehouse to play Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Quirrell and Filch,” said Francesca Gardiner, showrunner and executive producer, and Mark Mylod, director of multiple episodes and executive producer. “We’re delighted to have such extraordinary talent onboard, and we can’t wait to see them bring these beloved characters to new life.”
They will be doing more than bringing “new life” to these characters, particularly with Severus Snape. In the Harry Potter novels, Snape is described (often, may I add) as sallow-skinned, hook-nosed, and bat-like, with yellow teeth and thin curtains of greasy black hair framing his face. The actor chosen to play him on the show is the total opposite of these descriptions. It also drastically changes the dynamics of the characters whenever Snape is in a scene. Harry is often suspicious of Snape and even tries to tell Dumbledore of his theories about the potions professor, yet is shot down and told the man is trustworthy, not to worry. Yes, readers do discover in the later books that Snape is a double agent, but not for want, many would assume. Also, when comes the time that Harry views Snape’s worst memory in the Pensive, what he witnesses his teenage father and friends do will NOT bode well in terms of optics. It’s honestly bizarre how the showrunners can cast the other professors for this series well, even if one actor is American (though he has proven he can play British roles believably), yet do a complete 360 flip on a character that is VITAL to the plot, especially in the latter books. It’s one thing if the chosen actor, in this case, Paapa Essiedu, plays the role well, but the race-swapping is far too glaring and, honestly, unnecessary in MANY respects. It calls into question who they will cast as the Golden Trio, with the continued reports of 30,000 submissions. Will Hermione be portrayed as black once again, or will there be a “gingercide,” as Hollywood also loves to do with redheaded characters, and make the Weasleys black? It feels like such a missed opportunity for this actor they’ve chosen for Snape not to play one of the popular minor characters, Kingsley Shaklebolt, who later becomes Minister of Magic.
J.K. Rowling herself has not made any statements regarding these casting choices, aside from when it was first announced, so it begs the question: is she just allowing these people to rewrite her work, and she’ll just slap her name on it like a seal of approval similar to Cursed Child? It certainly feels that way, or it could be assumed she is placing more focus on her crime series, Cormoran Strike (C.B Strike), which has also been adapted for television and is currently having the eighth installment of the books edited. That series has kept fairly loyal to the text, so it does feel like J.K. hardly cares for Harry Potter anymore, that any adaptations can be butchered freely without any regard to the fans who helped make it famous in the first place. A few people have expressed that they believe this is like a George Lucas/Star Wars situation; however, I have to disagree. This feels very similar to the George R.R Martin situation with his A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) novels, which the man has totally given up on completing because, one, he showed fans the ending in the last season of the television series, which was far from satisfying for many, and two, he only seems to want to write prequels, sequels, of other books in the universe instead of finally coming to a conclusion in ASOIAF.
The Harry Potter series is being executive produced by Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod; Gardiner will serve as showrunner, while Myold will direct multiple episodes. The show is being produced by HBO, in association with Brontë Film and TV (the very same company producing the C.B. Strike series) and Warner Bros. Television. J.K. Rowling herself is listed as executive producer, as are Neil Blair (JKR’s agent for her books and longtime friend), Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films, who, as we all know, was involved with the previous Potter films.
Maybe a decade ago, this could’ve been a recipe for success, with many of the same people on the team; yet even then, with Rowling gleefully championing changes to her beloved IP, there seems to be no hope for a faithful adaption of these books. It feels like a slap in the face to the fans who have loved this series so much over the decades that even the creators could care less about staying loyal to their own source material, only caring for the virtue signaling points and DEI clout amongst a minority of people.
Now, the floor is open to you all. What do you think of these casting choices? Are you, too, a fan of this series and now feel no hope that they will “faithfully” adapt these books, or is this one poor casting choice not a deterrent? Please tell us below in the comments.
*Artwork by Jim Kay from the illustrated editions of the Harry Potter books*
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Comments (2)
A lot of suggestions for Adam Driver or Keanu Reeves. Either one of them would have been good in a professor role.
We’ve been there and done that. This will go over like the Willow remake. There was not ever going to be a substitute for Val Kilmer. In the case of Snape, they are going to replace Alan Rickman? Good Luck with that. Most of the time, it would not matter, but Alan Rickman was up there with the greats of either stage theater or cinema. If anything Alan Rickman was underrated and underutilized in Hollywood. Him and Kilmer were all time legends and they were the driving force behind those movies, those characters and those roles they starred in. Without them, it ain’t gonna work. You already saw it with the Willow remake. Rickman would’ve made a good Magneto, too or other villain.
I don’t recommend Alan Rickman’s journal, that they made into a book, but the only reason it was good, is what a handle that guy had on the present day, as it relates to the timeline. You see a very broad perspective he had.