HBO has reportedly approached an actor to play the famous potions professor in the Harry Potter series. But on social networks, fans believe that we cannot succeed Alan Rickman like that.
Which actors will play in the next series Harry Potter ? Fans who continue to support the project despite JK Rowling’s deemed transphobic releases are actively asking the question. The task is not easy, since the cinematographic saga is less than 20 years old and the interpretation of actors like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint or Maggie Smith are still vivid in the memories.
The process is moving forward in any case, according to information from Hollywood Reporter. The American specialist magazine assures that HBO would have approached Paapa Essiedu to play a character adored by fans: the enigmatic potions professor Severus Snape. The 34-year-old actor is a rising figure in British cinema. He was talked about in the series I May Destroy You, In Gangs of London, but also The Lazarus Project or more recently in The Outrun.
The Hollywood Reporter specifies that Paapa Essiedu would have been offered the role, although it is not yet sure whether negotiations have started, or whether the British actor would have accepted. If this is the case, he would become the first actor officially cast in the series, which wants to put diversity in the spotlight, in opposition to the cinematographic saga. Mark Rylance (The Bridge of Spies), approached to be Dumbledore, could also “soon” sign.
Severus Snape is a character beloved by some fans. Unsurprisingly, the announcement sparked several comments from fans of the franchise on social media. Some imagined an actor “more faithful” to the physical description given by the book. The name of Adam Driver, “who has the looks, voice and acting talent to do the character justice” according to some, is regularly mentioned.
Most believe that no one can come close to the original actor (even if, as Internet users point out, he “was 25 years too old compared to the character if we rely on the description in the book”): ” There is only one Rogue that exists, and it will always be Alan Rickman for me,” we can read on the social network Internet user. “No matter who you choose for this role, Rickman’s acting is now inseparable from the character and it will be very difficult to surpass him.”
What is certain is that no actor chosen for this new interpretation of the book will ever be unanimous among fans ofHarry Potter. The project itself divides from the start, between those who are impatient to discover each book adapted into a season of series, and those who believe that there was no need to offer a new version after the success of the films , or even those who boycott all the projects to which JK Rowling is attached because of her transphobic outings. Regardless of fans’ opinions, the HBO series is slated for release in 2026 at the earliest, and possibly 2027.