It’s official — Warner Bros. Discovery has greenlit the serialized adaptation of Harry Potter, set to premiere on the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max (now just Max).
Max shared the news to its Twitter account Wednesday afternoon, delighting viewers (or scaring them off) with the first official teaser trailer. Within a matter of minutes, the conversation zoomed in on the set of new actors and actresses that will ultimately bring J.K. Rowling’s beloved characters to life. There are many to love, to be sure, but the one that appears to have ushered in the most contentious debate is Hermione Granger, portrayed famously by British actress Emma Watson in the original movies.
The complexity of the debate hinders on the fact that fans believe WBD will cast a Black actress to play the role of Hermione, which would mirror the casting decision from the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Actress Noma Dumezweni was cast for the role back then, a decision that rubbed many in the fandom the wrong way at the time.
In 2016, Rowling told the Observer that “Noma was chosen because she was the best actress for the job….I had a bunch of racists telling me that because Hermione ‘turned white’ – that is, lost colour from her face after a shock – that she must be a white woman, which I have a great deal of difficulty with. But I decided not to get too agitated about it and simply state quite firmly that Hermione can be a black woman with my absolute blessing and enthusiasm.”
Rowling also tweeted at that time that the canonical version of Hermione was only ever written as having “brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever,” she said. “White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione.”
But if casting Hermione as Black was the only driving force behind the conversation it might not be as contentious as it is. As it turns out, Rowling’s association with the project, which has been confirmed, adds an additional layer of complexity to the matter given her vocal remarks about the transgender community in recent years; remarks that have seen her labeled by many as anti-trans. Casting Hermione as Black, to some, is merely a “diversity shield against the backlash.”
Above and beyond Rowling’s muddied involvement with the show and its casting, however, are the chunks of storyline the author wrote into the books that would give way to uncomfortable page-to-screen translations.
Fans are pointing out that Hermione’s history of being called derogatory in-universe slurs such as Mudblood — a derogatory term for those who have both Muggle blood and Wizard blood — unnecessarily opens the door to uncomfortable conversations. Many are also saddened to think that the young actress who plays the character, should she indeed be Black, will be plagued by similar slurs in real life.
It is true. Casting Hermione with a Black actress gives way to conversations that were often scoffed at in the novels, such as Hermione being opposed to House-elf slavery, a storyline that never made it into the movies. The unsaid implications that that storyline would expose the show to would be difficult, if not impossible, to overlook.
At this time, WBD has shared little to no information about the new serialized show beyond it being a “faithful” adaptation of the novels. If the early conversations are any indication of what the studio can expect, it is going to be anything but smooth sailing between here and the finish line.