Casting announcements for HBO’s Harry Potter television series has caused a lot of controversy online. Unfortunately, the conversation has been heavily skewed around the actor’s skin color. For both Hermione Granger and Severus Snape, the actors cast have darker skin than they did in the movies. While there is no denying that some may judge Arabella Stanton and Paapa Essiedu for the color of their skin, there is something else going on here. No one can replace the original Harry Potter cast.
The entire cast of the show has an impossible challenge ahead of them. Comparison is going to come naturally, no matter how well they perform in the roles. They are going up against memories, legacy, and time itself. The biggest controversy should be why HBO thought it was a good idea to put them in this position in the first place.
Everything is Different
HBO has set all of these actors up for failure. While the main marketing point for this new show is to include more moments from the books that couldn’t fit in the movies, there really isn’t anything else that fans want to change. The demand then is really for a longer version of the movies, not a new adaptation.
The iconic moment of seeing Hogwarts for the first time.
What would Harry Potter be without the original score? But how could that score ring out for a different boy who lived?
The Great Hall and other sets will have to be cloned for fans to feel like they’re at Hogwarts. The costuming will have to be at the same level as it was for the films. And the poor actors are going to have to either mimic or change every iconic line delivery. Who can forget Hermione warning Ron and Harry that they could be killed, or worse, expelled?
The Lord of the Rings is another fantasy book adaptation like Harry Potter. While those movies are already long, there are extended versions for the fans who felt like they didn’t get the full story in the originals. This ended up being a far better alternative than remaking the movies in a show a decade later, especially considering how LotR shows tend to go. It is too late to go back and add more to the Harry Potter movies, but it doesn’t stop fans from wishing they could.
The Cursed Child is a largely hated play that extends the Harry Potter story. Even though it is known to be controversial among fans, it is receiving a boost in interest simply for having Tom Felton return as Draco Malfoy. Many fans want to see the original cast again, and are even willing to take it in the form of something other than a remake.
Too Soon to Remake Harry Potter
Although it may feel at times like the Battle of Hogwarts raged in cinemas decades ago, it has really only been about 14 years. That means that kids born at the time generally can’t even legally drive yet. People who are young adults now may not have been allowed to see it in theaters. Just because it takes place in the 90s doesn’t mean it was filmed back then.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Ironically, it was about the time that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II came out that Hollywood became obsessed with remaking movies. Disney remade some older properties at first, but now studios are all trying to remake their modern hits. The topic of trying to capture lightning in a bottle twice aside, audiences haven’t responded well to remaking movies that are too young. The Moana remake has especially gotten Disney a lot of criticism.
The wonder and magic of the Harry Potter movies is still alive and well. They don’t feel or look dated. The series and it’s cast are all still fresh in the minds of fans. This isn’t a way to revive a dying story, but the creation of an accidental direct competitor to the movies.
Psychology of Change
When it comes to any remake, be it a change from animation to live action, book to movie, or movie to show, it can be hard to accept change. This is especially true when it comes to the way people look.
George Lucas knew this when casting a younger version of Obi Wan. At the time, the only version of the character fans knew was Alec Guinness. In order for them to accept the new actor as being the same person, Lucas had to find someone who shared a few key physical characteristics.
Ewan McGregor then had to evolve the physicality of the character to show how Obi Wan grew to be the older version of himself. The end result was someone who looked and acted like the original Obi Wan. There was no mental gymnastics that the fans had to go through to understand that this was one character.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy to do. Humans are quite good at subconsciously picking up on subtle differences in the face. This can come in handy for movies, like in Coraline.
The Other Mother is almost identical to Coraline’s real mom at the start. Aside from the button eyes, they look the same. Yet, something is off and unnatural about the Other Mother.
There is more wrong with the Other Mother than her button eyes.
The Other Mother has a perfectly straight nose, while Coraline’s mother has a more natural crooked nose. The audience is only supposed to focus on the buttons, but this little detail gets the subconscious brain in on the tension. Understanding how the brain perceives things can be a great tool for filmmakers, but disregarding it may cause trouble. The casting of Solo made it clear that a lot more goes into it than skin and hair color.
New Faces Means New People
The brain is not meant to associate two different faces with the same person.
Unfortunately, there are those who will act on prejudice, but for most Harry Potter fans, it is just hard to think of different people as being the same. Even if they want to embrace a new cast, the mental hurdle of seeing different people as the same makes that difficult. Stanton and Essiedu most obviously look starkly different from their counterparts, hence them getting most of the negative attention.
Two actors, one character.
Online commenters have been expressing that they just don’t feel like the actors match up. A common sentiment shared is that Essiedu looks like he’d be a great Kingsley Shacklebolt. This indicates that he largely isn’t being rejected for his skin color, but because he doesn’t look like a match for Snape specifically.
It is also common to see people wishing that HBO chose to do an animated series instead, allowing the characters to look like the movie and be voiced by anyone. Although this would not be a perfect solution, it does fix a lot of the problems with fans not being able to associate new faces with the old characters. If Essiedu has a great voice for Snape, then his casting as a voice actor would be much less controversial.
The desire for actors to look like the character is based in a need to be able to recognize the character. Especially for such a beloved and well known franchise, any deviation from the original is going to make it harder to accept. Although it may not feel entirely fair, Snape is the most iconic and untouchable character. It’s not that Essiedu is a bad actor, but Alan Rickman already gave the perfect performance.
Alan Rickman Made Snape
Stanton may be able to eventually win people over as Hermione, but Essiedu likely won’t have such an easy time as Snape. Snape may have existed in the books first, but to most fans, Alan Rickman created the character.
Rickman’s face shows exactly what Snape was thinking.
There is simply no divorcing the character of Severus Snape from Alan Rickman’s performance. The way he spoke instantly became iconic, but that wasn’t the only thing that made the character. The physical performance gave Snape his mysterious aura. The choices of when to be still and when to add some rage and energy showed the audience the complexity of the character. There is no understating how Rickman managed to show everything Snape was feeling on his face, all while making it believable that Snape had fooled everyone.
No matter who was cast in the role, no one would win everyone over as Snape. If they did, they would deserve every acting award to ever exist.
Essiedu may give a solid performance, but HBO and Harry Potter fans alike are just going to have to accept that he can never be Snape like Rickman was. Absolutely no one can be.
The Passing of Harry Potter Legends
Even though the movies were not made that long ago, a large portion of the adult cast from the Harry Potter films have since passed. Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, and so many more actors who gave a brilliant performance as their respective character are no longer alive. It is common for there to be mixed feelings about how to proceed when an actor passes away. Often times, their most iconic role is left to be their legacy.
The Joker became Ledger’s legacy character.
Heath Ledger passed away after his portrayal as the Joker in the Dark Knight. Fans have expressed that Ledger will always be the best Joker. While his performance is undoubtedly what earned him that praise in the first place, there is something to be said about how it felt even more important to honor his performance after his death. As time has passed and more Jokers have come and gone, it is no surprise that they have all steered away from trying to be the same version of the character. It is also no surprise that no one has won the hearts of fans.
Chadwick Boseman is Black Panther’s legacy actor.
Chadwick Boseman is yet another example of an actor gone too soon. He had played Black Panther in the MCU. The warmth and strength he put into the performance instantly won everyone over. Boseman passed away before his time as the character was supposed to be over. This caused concern about how Marvel would respond. Although no one wanted Black Panther to leave the MCU, the more prevalent feeling was that Boseman could not be replaced. Marvel made the hard decision not to recast. The role of the King of Wakanda was left to be a part of Boseman’s legacy.
In a surprisingly bold move, Marvel has released a comic book featuring T’Challa’s “son.” Of course, they took the most controversial path possible and made the son blond, pale, and a villain. In a not surprising response, fans aren’t thrilled. Although this character isn’t a direct replacement, if Marvel puts him in the MCU, they will inevitably face a ton of backlash for disrespecting Boseman’s legacy.
This isn’t to say that characters must die with their actors. It is to say that legacy matters, and honoring the character they made is important. The aforementioned desire for the series to be animated could alleviate the issue. It would allow the characters to remain partly connected to their legacy actor in their appearance. New actors could contribute their voices, but the legacy actors would not be forgotten.
A Problem From the Start
While Stanton and Essiedu may be taking the brunt of it right now, the entire cast is going to inevitably face the same resistance. If they try to be the actors that came before them, then their performances will be awkward and forced. If their performances aren’t as iconic, then they will be called bad actors. HBO put them in a position where they can’t win.
Comparison may be the thief of joy, but much like the movies are always compared to the books, the Harry Potter show will be compared to the movies. This is the nature of adaptations.
The original golden trio.
Overall, it is important to remember that these actors just accepted a job. The studio is the one who thought it would be a good idea to take on this impossible task in the first place. The actors, especially the child actors, should not have to deal with the upset this project will inevitably cause. They may be the face of the project, but the studio shouldn’t get to hide behind them.
