Posted in: HBO, Max, Opinion, TV, TV | Tagged: harry potter, opinion

Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling Reacts to Calls for Paapa Essiedu's Firing

Author J.K. Rowling responded on social media to those calling for Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape) to be fired from the "Harry Potter" series.

Bestselling author J.K. Rowling has made her views on the transgender community and trans rights painfully clear over the past year or so, leaving many to wonder how that would potentially impact HBO and showrunner/EP Francesca Gardiner and director/EP Mark Mylod's upcoming series adaptation of Rowling's "Harry Potter" novels. A number of famous names from the film franchise have gone public with their support of the trans community, while others like Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan ("Keep your new 'Harry Potter' lads. Wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.") have made it clear that they're not interested in being associated with the author. Last week, the issue hit the headlines once again when Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You, Gangs of London) – who is set to portray Hogwarts Prof. Severus Snape – joined hundreds of other television and film folks in signing an open letter calling on the media and entertainment industry to commit to protecting and including the trans community.

Needless to say, a whole lot of folks who side with Rowling lost their collective s**t on social media, clutching their pearls, fanning away the vapors, and ranting about Essiedu needing to be fired. Earlier today, Rowling responded again to those calling for the actor to be sacked. "I don't have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn't exercise it if I did. I don't believe in taking away people's jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine," Rowling wrote in a social media post that went live on Monday (which included a look at how the Scottish Daily Express covered Rowling's view on the matter). As an executive producer on the project, it will be interesting to see how Rowling plans to use her social media power and influence to push back on how a whole lot of "Harry Potter" gatekeepers are losing their collective s**t over Essiedu not being white – and how some of them have been expressing it in some of the most racist ways imaginable.

The stories from each of Rowling's Harry Potter books will become (from the initial statement that was released when the series news first dropped) "a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love, and care this global franchise is known for. The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of fantastic detail, much-loved characters, and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over twenty-five years. Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic, and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

Joining Essiedu are John Lithgow (Conclave, The Crown) as Albus Dumbledore, Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds, The White Queen) as Minerva McGonagall, Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) as Rubeus Hagrid, Luke Thallon (Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt, Rupert Goold's Patriots) as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse (The Fast Show, Harry & Paul) as Argus Filch. The series is written and executive-produced by showrunner Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials, Killing Eve). Mark Mylod (Succession, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) will executive produce and direct multiple episodes of the series for HBO in association with Brontë Film and TV and Warner Bros. Television. The series is executive produced by J.K. Rowling, Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.

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