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Credit: Warner Bros.There’s suddenly a lot going on in the world of Harry Potter. Between the HBO reboot, which has been announcing cast members left and right (including the main trio), and Tom Felton confirming his return as Draco Malfoy in the Broadway version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, fans haven’t known where to properly focus their attention.
Either way, whether it’s the new television series or the stage show, Harry Potter continues to attract controversy like Dementors to an escaped Azkaban inmate.
Starting with HBO’s upcoming series, actors like Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid) and Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape) have already come under fire. Frost has been criticized by trans rights activists for affiliating himself with J.K. Rowling, while the casting of Essiedu has been slammed by a minority of fans unwilling to accept an actor of color as Snape, who was portrayed by the late Alan Rickman in the eight Harry Potter films.
Essiedu was also criticized for signing an open letter condemning the recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling on biological sex, an outcome Rowling celebrated online.
Now, over on the Cursed Child side, Tom Felton has also come under heavy fire. Recently, while on the red carpet at the Tony Awards, Felton was asked about his return as Draco Malfoy, before he was asked by another reporter on the controversy surrounding J.K. Rowling, whose widely-known views on gender identity are considered transphobic by many.
Related: HBO ‘Harry Potter’ Actor Admits To Clashing With J.K. Rowling’s Trans Views
While other actors from the films, such as Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), have shown solidarity with the trans community while publicly distancing themselves from the author, Felton appears neutral.
On Sunday, Variety asked the actor about his viewpoint on the controversy and whether it impacts his work, to which he replied, “I can’t say it does. I’m not really that attuned to it.”
He added: “The only thing I always remind myself, is that I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, here I am in New York, and I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter, and she’s [Rowling] responsible for that. So I’m incredibly grateful.”
Tom Felton says the controversy around J.K. Rowling’s political views doesn’t impact him: “I’m not really that attuned to it…I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.” #TonyAwards
Tom Felton says the controversy around J.K. Rowling’s political views doesn’t impact him: “I’m not really that attuned to it…I have not seen anything bring the world together more than Potter. She’s responsible for that, so I’m incredibly grateful.” #TonyAwards pic.twitter.com/T7KSMNbFds
— Variety (@Variety) June 8, 2025
Unsurprisingly, Felton’s comments have drawn backlash from anti-J.K. Rowling Harry Potter fans and trans rights activists alike.
Meanwhile, on Monday June 9, a new actor was cast into the role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter television series. Named among nine newly announced cast members (in addition to the first round of nine actors), Lox Pratt is set to don the Slytherin robes as Harry’s low-level nemesis at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Upcoming Harry Potter: The Stage and the Screen
The new Harry Potter series is touted as a “faithful adaptation” of the seven books by J.K. Rowling. Spanning seven seasons (one per book) across a 10-year period, it will premiere on HBO sometime in 2026, although no narrower release window has been confirmed.
Production is set to begin sometime this summer.
Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials) is writer/showrunner and an executive producer, Mark Mylod (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) will executive-produce and direct multiple episodes, and J.K. Rowling is also an executive producer, along with Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.
Tom Felton will appear as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Lyric Theatre in New York City from November 11, 2025, to March 22, 2026.
What do you make of all this controversy? Let us know your thoughts!