When HBO announced in April 2025 that British actor Paapa Essiedu would be taking on the role of Severus Snape in their upcoming Harry Potter series, the internet did what it does best: it erupted. The 35-year-old actor, known for his powerful performances in I May Destroy You and his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, found himself at the center of a controversy that says far more about our society than it does about faithful adaptation.
The outrage isn’t rooted in genuine concern for storytelling—it’s racism, whether conscious or not. And it’s time we called it what it is.
The “Source Material” Smokescreen
The most common refrain from critics has been the need to “stick to the source material.” This argument might hold water if it were applied consistently, but it’s not. It’s deployed selectively, and almost exclusively when race is involved.
Consider the current HBO cast announcements: John Lithgow as Dumbledore doesn’t match Rowling’s description of a tall, thin wizard with long silver hair and beard. Janet McTeer as McGonagall differs from the book’s depiction of a stern, square-jawed woman. Nick Frost as Hagrid is notably different from the book’s description of a giant of a man with wild black hair.
But where’s the outrage? Where are the passionate pleas to respect Rowling’s vision?
The same selective blindness existed with the original films. Alan Rickman, beloved as his portrayal was, bore little resemblance to the book’s Snape. The character is described as “thin with sallow, pale skin, a large hooked nose, greasy shoulder-length black hair, and cold black eyes.” Rickman had brown eyes with green flecks, wasn’t particularly thin, and was in his mid-50s when he first played a character who should have been in his early 30s.
Yet none of these deviations sparked the fury we’re seeing now. Fans accepted Daniel Radcliffe’s blue eyes instead of Harry’s green ones. They embraced Emma Watson’s bushy-but-manageable hair instead of Hermione’s truly unruly mane, or her straight, even teeth instead of the book’s description of “rather large front teeth.” They overlooked countless age discrepancies, physical descriptions, and personality traits.
The only time “source material” becomes a battle cry is when a character’s race changes. This selective outrage reveals the true motivation behind the criticism.
The Power of Unconscious Bias
Not everyone expressing discomfort with Essiedu’s casting is intentionally racist. Many are grappling with unconscious biases they may not even recognize. When we’ve internalized certain visual expectations, often rooted in decades of predominantly white casting, seeing something different can create genuine discomfort.
But discomfort isn’t justification for opposition. It’s an opportunity for self-reflection. When your primary reaction to a talented actor’s casting is focused on his skin color rather than his ability, it’s worth examining why.
The reality is that for many fans, their image of these characters has been shaped more by the films than the books. We’ve conflated Alan Rickman with Severus Snape so thoroughly that any departure feels wrong. But this conflation says more about our limited imagination than about the character’s essential nature.
Snape’s Race: Irrelevant to the Story
Here’s the fundamental truth that critics seem to miss: Snape’s race has absolutely no bearing on his character arc or the overall Harry Potter narrative. His paleness is mentioned in passing, but it’s never integral to a plot point, relationship dynamic, or thematic element.
Snape’s story is about unrequited love, moral complexity, the weight of past mistakes, and the possibility of redemption. These themes are universal and completely independent of skin color. His antagonistic relationship with Harry stems from his complicated feelings about James Potter, not from any racial dynamic. His role as a double agent depends on his magical abilities and emotional intelligence, not his pigmentation.
Some critics have raised concerns about specific scenes. Harry’s initial wariness of Snape, or the flashbacks to James Potter’s bullying. They worry these moments might be interpreted differently with a Black actor. But this concern assumes both poor writing and poor acting. If Essiedu delivers the nuanced performance his track record suggests, and if the writers craft these scenes with care, the focus will remain on the actual story beats, not race.
Moreover, if we’re truly concerned about how these scenes might be interpreted, perhaps we should ask why we’re so ready to assume the worst rather than trusting in good storytelling.
The Talent Behind the Casting
Paapa Essiedu isn’t just a diversity hire, and to suggest so is incredible dismissive to his talent and skill. He is a phenomenally gifted actor who brings serious credentials to the role. Since joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2012, he’s tackled some of the most challenging roles in classical theater, including productions of Hamlet, King Lear, and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
His screen breakthrough came with I May Destroy You, where his nuanced performance earned him Emmy and BAFTA nominations. He’s proven his ability to handle complex, morally ambiguous characters—exactly what Snape requires.
Even Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the original films, has spoken out in defense of the casting. “Paapa Essiedu is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve seen some people online who are being rude about him. What they’re being is racist,” Isaacs said at FanExpo Denver. He added that critics “will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen.”
A Series for a New Generation
The HBO Harry Potter series, planned to run from 2026 to 2036, is being created for a new generation of viewers. Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences have different expectations around representation than previous generations. They want to see themselves and they world they live in reflected in the stories they love, and they’re more likely to embrace diverse casting as natural rather than noteworthy.
For these younger viewers, the lack of prominent characters of color in the original books and films is a glaring omission. The Harry Potter universe, as originally conceived, populated an entire magical world with almost exclusively white characters. The few characters of color; Cho Chang, the Patil twins, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Dean Thomas were relegated to supporting roles or brief mentions.
Adding one Black professor to the main cast isn’t revolutionary, it’s the bare minimum. It’s a small step toward creating a magical world that reflects the diversity of the real one.
The Bigger Picture
The fervor over Essiedu’s casting reveals something uncomfortable about portions of the fanbase. When faced with countless deviations from the source material, the only ones that generate sustained outrage are those involving race. This selective concern exposes the real issue: not faithfulness to the overall vision, but discomfort with seeing a Black actor in a role previously held by a white one.
This isn’t about preserving beloved characters or honoring literary integrity. It’s about resistance to change, particularly change that challenges long-held assumptions about who gets to be the hero, the villain, or the complex antihero.
The Harry Potter books were written in the 1990s by a white British woman who, by her own admission, didn’t prioritize racial diversity in her worldbuilding. Nearly 30 years later, we have the opportunity to expand that vision without compromising its core themes. We can create a more inclusive magical world while preserving everything that made the original story compelling.
Moving Forward
Paapa Essiedu’s casting as Severus Snape represents progress, not betrayal. It’s a chance to see a beloved character reimagined by a talented actor who brings his own interpretation to the role. It’s an opportunity to introduce Harry Potter to a new generation while making the wizarding world more reflective of our own.
For those struggling with this casting choice, the solution isn’t to dig in deeper to opposition. It’s to examine why this particular change feels so threatening when countless others have been accepted without question. It’s to recognize that great storytelling transcends physical appearance, and that the essence of these characters lies in their actions, relationships, and growth, not in their skin color.
The magic of Harry Potter has always been its ability to transport us to a world where anything is possible. It’s time we extended that same imagination to the actors who bring these characters to life.
Whether you realize it or not, if you’re more upset about Snape’s race than about any other aspect of his adaptation, you’re telling on yourself. The question isn’t whether Paapa Essiedu can play Severus Snape, it’s whether we’re ready to let him.
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