April 19, 2025, 9:31 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The highly anticipated initial castings for the HBO series based on the Harry Potter books have been officially confirmed. The casting of Paapa Essiedu as Harry’s adversarial teacher Severus Snape has drawn criticism from some quarters. TECHBOOK writer and cultural scholar Louisa Stoeffler also finds this casting choice troubling, primarily because it could reinforce rather than dispel racial prejudices.
I grew up with the Harry Potter books. The first one came out when I was seven years old, and I fully experienced the hype surrounding the story. Starting with the fifth book, I switched to reading them in English because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. My obsession finally ended with the last book in the series, which I devoured in 36 hours without sleep, my eyes red and swollen from the many beloved characters who died. The revelation that Severus Snape was actually one of the “good guys” in the story shocked me quite a bit. However, what HBO is planning for its adaptation of the material fundamentally changes the story of Harry Potter—and not for the better.
Racist Stereotypes Are More Likely to Be Reinforced Than to Disappear
Of course, I also grew up with the movies and the actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. With them, I practically left my childhood behind.
Due to the popularity of the series—even though author J.K. Rowling has been making headlines for negative reasons for many years—it was clear that there would eventually be a remake. And other actors would portray the characters I most associate with them today. For example, I will see Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort for the rest of my life.
And hardly anyone could have filled the role of Severus Snape as Alan Rickman, who passed away in 2016, did. But all this nostalgia is not why I view the casting of Paapa Essiedu for this role extremely critically. Because instead of making racist stereotypes disappear, they could be reinforced.
Why Snape Is the Wrong Choice for “Racially Diverse Casting”
Let’s take a look at Severus Snape’s childhood: He lived in a rundown area, practically a slum, with a broken water pipe that made the whole area stink. There, he lives with his violent father, who regularly beats and abuses his mother in front of young Severus.
He has no friends, is an outsider, and somewhat strange. Petunia Evans, later Dursley and Harry Potter’s aunt, even calls him “that awful boy” with whom her younger sister should have no contact because he is so different.
Once at Hogwarts, Snape can finally escape his broken family situation, only to end up in the circle of Slytherins who later use dark magic, torture, and kill people. His only friend, Lily, he later calls a “Mudblood,” while he is bullied by James Potter and his friends in the 1970s for his appearance and simply “the fact that he exists.”
I hope by now it is understandable why it is quite problematic to cast a Black actor for this role. This is because some aspects of Snape take on a racist component that was not present in the original.
Isn’t There Already Enough Racism in the World of “Harry Potter”?
And it doesn’t end in the childhood of the future Potions Master. The main character, Harry Potter, can never truly trust Snape—as the only authority figure among his teachers. Even in Voldemort’s circle, Snape never really fits in and is met with distrust. Only Dumbledore stands by him, although he treats him more like a lackey.
If it were up to a die-hard “Potterhead” like me, I would wish that the story wasn’t told in this form. Because there is already enough racism in the fantasy world of Harry Potter without it being forced through different skin colors—after all, we’re talking about a world where children are called “Mudbloods” or “blood traitors” if they don’t come from “pure-blood” magical families or are friends with non-magical children (Muggles).
First Casting Rumors for the New “Harry Potter” Series Cause a Stir
All Information and Rumors About the “Harry Potter” Series from HBO
Super Mario has lost one of his most famous features!
Why Not Positively Cast “Harry Potter” Characters with Different Skin Colors?
It would be something entirely different for me if exclusively positively cast characters had a different skin color. Why not a Black Professor McGonagall or Hermione? The morally often clouded world—and the consistently negative view of the reader and viewer—of a Severus Snape would not be my first choice here.
If I could wish for something, it would be for Adam Driver to portray the character. Because not least through his role as Kylo Ren in Star Wars, he has proven that he can convey the conflicted and eternally fate-struggling nature of the Potions Master, who causes children like Neville Longbottom to develop an anxiety disorder about his class for no good reason, on the big screen.