Credit: Inside the MagicDoes J.K. Rowling have any control over the new Harry Potter series?
While Rowling is only on board as an executive producer for HBO’s upcoming television series, it would appear that she has very little, if any, control over the casting.
So far, dozens of actors have been announced, including John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, Katherine Parkinson as Molly Weasley, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, and Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter.
Almost every actor looks like a perfect fit for their wizarding world counterpart, but among that lineup is a rather controversial casting: Black actor Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.
Snape’s Controversial New Casting
In the Harry Potter films, Snape was portrayed by the late Alan Rickman. The actor was the perfect physical embodiment of the character — he had a “large, hooked nose” and “sallow skin”, just as described in Rowling’s books. Early sketches from Rowling herself appear to support these descriptions and they also seemingly depict Snape as a White character.
Unsurprisingly, Essiedu’s casting has led to backlash. Though many fans are in support of the actor (Gangs of London) taking on the role, others have voiced their disappointment and frustration at Warner Bros. and HBO for “race-swapping” a character as iconic as Snape.
Rowling May Have Little to No Control Over the Casting Process
In fact, the latter group even reached out to Rowling directly (on X, formerly Twitter) to ask that she fires Essiedu from the series. This reached its peak when Essiedu signed an open letter condemning this year’s divisive U.K. Supreme Court ruling, which confirmed that the word “sex” refers exclusively to biological sex, not a person’s legal gender — an outcome Rowling famously celebrated by sharing a provocative, cigar-twirling selfie on social media.
In response to the demand to fire Essiedu for condemning that ruling, Rowling explained that she doesn’t have the power to sack an actor from the Harry Potter series, and that she wouldn’t exercise that right even if she did:
“I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine.”
I don’t have the power to sack an actor from the series and I wouldn’t exercise it if I did. I don’t believe in taking away people’s jobs or livelihoods because they hold legally protected beliefs that differ from mine. pic.twitter.com/nKcAl3gcvO
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 5, 2025
It’s understandable for us to imagine that Rowling has full control over casting. But the fact that she doesn’t have the power to fire them — as she’s admitted — may suggest that she doesn’t have the power to cast them, either. After all, the latter duties would lie with the casting director. But it’s more than likely that she acts as more of a consultant when it comes to casting anyway.
In 2023, long before production on the upcoming series was underway, it was rumored that Rowling would have the “final say” on casting. This might still indeed be true, but seeing as she’s only an executive producer, it’s hard to imagine it actually being the case.
Related: ‘Harry Potter’s Snape Isn’t the Only Character Who’s Been “Race-Swapped”
Divisive Casting in Harry Potter Is Nothing New
If Rowling is involved with that process, however, Essiedu’s casting shouldn’t be all that surprising. For starters, there’s nothing wrong with it, but when the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) cast Black actor Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger, Rowling shocked Potterheads all around the world when, in response to the backlash, she claimed that the Gryffindor student’s ethnicity and skin color were never revealed in the books.
Many fans argued that some of the text in Rowling’s novels implies that Hermione is White, and also pointed out that she’s White in the approved artwork for the books, as well as the fact that Emma Watson was cast in the films.
Is J.K. Rowling Really “Anti-Woke”?
What’s particularly interesting about Rowling is that these days, she’s generally considered to be “far right” or “anti-woke”. Back then, however, she was considered to be the opposite: “left” or “woke”, as she was often accused of “jumping on the bandwagon” when it came to things like diversity and inclusion.
She even revealed in an interview back then that Dumbledore was gay, despite never revealing this in any of her books, either.
But when it comes to the author’s political position on current matters, it’s no mystery that she has divided opinions with her views on transgender people over the years. This is why a new report (a rumor) about a potential “gender-swap” casting in the new Harry Potter series is likely to have left fans scratching their heads in total and utter confusion.
A Very Controversial Casting Rumor
According to a new report from trusted entertainment industry scooper Daniel Richtman (via SFFGazette.com), HBO’s Harry Potter series is auditioning “auditioning both men and women for Voldemort.” In other words, Lord Voldemort (AKA Tom Riddle), the main antagonist in the Harry Potter franchise played in the films by Ralph Fiennes (28 Years Later), could be portrayed by a female actor in the upcoming television reboot.
While the report doesn’t say anything about any transgender actors being in the mix (whether men or women), it is entirely possible that they aren’t being ruled out from auditions. Unsurprisingly, this news has garnered a lot of attention from fans, particularly on X, where one mockingly writes, “This makes sense. I always pictured Voldemort as a woman when reading anyway. J.K. probably just forgot to write it in like everything else.”
Another asks the obvious question, saying, “I wonder what J.K. Rowling thinks of that lol?” One fan interestingly suggests that Harry Potter is a “self insert” story for the author and implies that Rowling might “see herself in Voldemort.” Could a female Voldemort be a way of Rowling trolling her many critics?
Either way, if Voldemort turns out to be female in HBO’s new series, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Rowling has been extremely vocal about her views on transgenderism. Of course, that’s not to say that Voldemort would be considered trans just because the character would be going from male to female creatively, but there’d be no escaping the obvious parallels.
The Harry Potter series will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max.
How do you feel about Voldemort potentially being female in the new HBO series? Let us know what you think in the comments down below!