HBO Harry Potter Series Announces More Casting

Television

The upcoming HBO Harry Potter series has announced new additions to the cast, including a few key characters in the story. 

The actors added to the show’s cast are (via Variety) Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Lox Pratt as Draco Malfoy, Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, Leo Earley as Seamus Finnigan, Alessia Leoni as Parvati Patil, Sienna Moosah as Lavender Brown, and Bertie Carvel as Cornelius Fudge. Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby will portray the roles of Harry’s aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley. Out of this list, the choices for these characters have been great, especially because many of them appear to be newer on the scene. Honestly, it’s a good thing to have “no names” take on these roles, iconic characters in modern literature, to make a (hopefully) good name for themselves in the end, being known for portraying the character well, especially in the eyes of fans. 

The show is to begin filming in the UK over the summer. 

With the recent casting of the Golden Trio, it seems this series is really amping up in finding all the actors to play the roles and making decent fits overall, despite one glaring flaw many are unable to overlook… Professor Severus Snape. HBO continuing to sell this show as being a “faithful adaption” of the beloved books is, quite frankly, disingenuous, and the phrase should not be thrown around so loosely in some poor attempt to fool fans. 

There have also been rumors floating about on Harry Potter fan sites regarding Paapa Essiedu potentially being fired and replaced in his role, yet there is no substantial evidence to back up these claims. As much as many would prefer Essiedu as the great character of Kingsley Shacklebolt, it would appear that whatever motives the showrunners have with this stunt, they intend to use to push a narrative that was never present in the books. 

There is a rumor floating out there that Paapa Essiedu, who was cast to play Snape in the Harry Potter TV series, may be recast and will not play Snape anymore.

This has not been confirmed, and is just a rumor as of now. I hope this rumor ends up being true, and that they cast… pic.twitter.com/4HZp5q7cLK

— Harry Potter Universe (@HPotterUniverse) June 7, 2025

The Malfoys or any other pureblood family calling Muggle-born witches or wizards “Mudblood” is declaring their class status, something very common in the UK over the centuries. Class meant a lot to those who had it, and now, this complete and total race-swap of a prominent character twists and distorts that particular phrase to mean something derogatory in terms of race rather than status. 

If the showrunners had any sense (or even brain cells at this point), they never would have made this poor decision and opted to actually make money and be the creators of a truly faithful adaptation of a widely beloved book series. Sadly, this is Hollywood in the Year of Our Lord 2025, and no one possesses even an ounce of talent or passion anymore, only activism. 

Nowadays, Hollywood makes it very difficult for your average Joe to enjoy any piece of media without being slapped over the head with, to quote Critical Drinker, “THE MESSAGE,” which, honestly, is a bunch of narcissists demanding everyone bow down to their every whim. Even with the recent changes in leadership, this cancer will not change unless the people consuming media continue to take a stand and use whatever talents they have to combat the poor, lackluster, ugly media we see today. To witness long-beloved franchises like Doctor Who, for example, fall so far from what they originally were is heartbreaking and, frankly, makes many fans never want to see their favorite franchises come to the same fate. That could very well occur with this Harry Potter reboot series, all due to one change in a character who happens to have a VERY IMPORTANT role in the plot. The silence from Jo Rowling on a lot of this is deafening and continues to beg the question of whether she still even cares about the story that made her famous. 

Now, the floor is open to all of you. What are your thoughts on this news, and does it give you any hope that this Harry Potter series still has potential, or is the massive, glaring change of a prominent character still far too much to overlook (particularly if you are a fan)? Please let us know in the comments below!

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