HBO’s return to Hogwarts has attracted controversy months before its first episode.
The network is adapting J.K. Rowling’s seven Harry Potter novels for television, beginning with an eight-episode version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The project reunites audiences with Hogwarts, its professors, and a new generation of students, nearly 25 years after the original film franchise began.
Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, with Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley. John Lithgow takes over as Albus Dumbledore, while Janet McTeer and Nick Frost portray Minerva McGonagall and Rubeus Hagrid, respectively.
But one casting decision has attracted particularly fierce opposition.
Why HBO’s New Snape Has Divided Fans
In April 2025, HBO announced Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, the Hogwarts Potions master played by the late Alan Rickman throughout the eight Harry Potter films. Essiedu is known for I May Destroy You, Black Mirror, and his extensive stage work.
Some fans objected to a Black actor playing Snape, whom Rowling describes as pale and sallow in the original books. Others questioned how the change might affect scenes involving James Potter’s bullying of Snape or the professor’s former association with Voldemort’s blood-purist Death Eaters.
The debate resurfaced in March 2026 when HBO released its first footage of the reboot. Essiedu’s Snape appeared with shoulder-length dreadlocks and a leather-heavy outfit, a departure from the severe black robes associated with Rickman’s portrayal.
The reaction went considerably further than criticism of the costume. In a March interview with The Sunday Times, Essiedu said he had received racist death threats, including a message warning, “Quit or I’ll murder you.”
HBO chairman Casey Bloys later confirmed the production had a “serious security team” and said the network had prepared actors for potentially hostile attention. Essiedu, meanwhile, explained that the abuse had strengthened his determination to play the character.
Paapa Essiedu Responds to Calls to Quit
Seven months after speaking publicly about those threats, Essiedu returned to the subject at the TIME100 Next Gala in New York on October 29. In an interview with Variety, he made clear that the controversy had not persuaded him to leave Harry Potter.
Essiedu praised the support he had received from colleagues and said his priority remained the performance. “I walk into it with open eyes,” he said, acknowledging that he understood how strongly audiences felt about HBO’s new interpretation.
He also emphasized that criticism was not the only response. Alongside the hostility, he said, fans had offered encouragement, well-wishes, and excitement about the series.
In another interview at the event, Essiedu acknowledged that “everyone’s got the right to their own opinion about whatever.” His aim, he explained, is to give Snape the complexity and emotional depth that readers recognize from Rowling’s novels.
The role remains a long-term commitment. Essiedu called playing Snape “a privilege, and it’s an honor to do it,” and indicated that he looked forward to continuing with the character for years.
He also said he was proud of the material he had already seen. Following months of debate about the casting, he had a message for viewers: “Now’s the time for people to engage with what we made.”
The actor has addressed another point of contention: Snape’s appearance. He said the character’s clothing and styling were carefully developed with the costume department, with attention to what Snape wants other people to think of him.
Essiedu previously revealed that he loved the Harry Potter books as a child but had never seen the original films. The television adaptation therefore offers a Snape shaped by his own reading of the character, rather than an attempt to imitate Rickman’s performance.
Snape will begin the first season as Harry’s intimidating Potions teacher and head of Slytherin House. His hostility toward Harry and suspicious behavior soon make him a suspect in the mystery surrounding the Philosopher’s Stone.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone premieres December 25, 2026, on HBO and HBO Max. The eight-episode season is written by Francesca Gardiner, with Mark Mylod directing multiple episodes and Rowling serving as an executive producer.
The production is continuing to expand its Hogwarts cast. Newly announced additions include David Threlfall as the Sorting Hat, Leo Bill as Nearly Headless Nick, and Laura Smyth as the Fat Lady, who guards Gryffindor Tower.
Work is already underway on Season 2, based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with Kit Harington among the announced additions as Gilderoy Lockhart. Essiedu, for his part, has given no indication that he intends to abandon Snape.
