The doors to Hogwarts are officially open once again, with fans getting their first proper look at HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series starring Dominic McLaughlin as the boy wizard.
The show’s highly-anticipated trailer dropped on Wednesday (25 March), offering glimpses of John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, Katherine Parkinson, Nick Frost and Janet McTeer as the books’ iconic characters ahead of its Christmas release date.
While many were left bewitched by the clip, HBO’s new project has been plagued by controversies since it was announced in 2021 – from backlash to author JK Rowling’s views to death threats received by the cast.
Some – most notably Chris Columbus, director of the first two Harry Potter films – have even questioned why the project is happening in the first place. With less than a year to go until the series is released, the debate looks set to run and run.
JK Rowling’s controversial transgender comments
While excitement around HBO’s new Harry Potter adaptation continues to build, JK Rowling’s controversial comments about the transgender community still feel like the Hippogriff in the room.
The author, 60, faced backlash from fans in December 2019 after tweeting in support of Maya Forstater – a woman fired from her job at a poverty think-tank over social media posts questioning government plans to allow people to self-identify as another gender.
She later criticised the use of the term “people who menstruate” to include transgender and non-binary people, hit out at the idea that a person’s biological sex is not real and claimed that young people with mental health problems are “being shunted towards hormones and surgery”.
Rowling’s comments led to some fans threatening to boycott the show and criticising the cast for choosing to work on the project.
John Lithgow – who plays Dumbledore – said in March that he considered quitting the role over the backlash. A month before, Aud Mason-Hyde – his co-star in film Jimpa who identifies as non-binary – said that Lithgow’s choice to accept the role was “vaguely hurtful” and “difficult”.
Lithgow is among the stars who have distanced themselves from Rowling’s views, saying in February that her views are “ironic and inexplicable”.
Addressing the criticism, Lithgow clarified that he disagrees with Rowling’s views on transgender rights and finds them to be “ironic and inexplicable”, given that her books are “clearly on the side of the angels, against intolerance and bigotry”.
In June, Hagrid’s Nick Frost said regarding Rowling’s comments: “She’s allowed her opinion and I’m allowed mine – they just don’t align in any way, shape or form.”
Elsewhere, Paapa Essiedu, who plays Severus Snape in the show, signed a letter calling for industry action on trans rights in May.
Racist threats: ‘Quit or I’ll murder you’
Paapa Essiedu made Harry Potter history when he was cast as the first Black actor to play the character of Severus Snape, a role the late Alan Rickman played to acclaim in the original films. However, Essiedu admitted in March that his casting has resulted in him receiving death threats online.
The 35-year-old told The Times that he received race-fuelled death threats after being cast, saying: “I’ve been told, ‘Quit or I’ll murder you.” While he hasn’t reported the threats to the authorities, he added: “I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
Essiedu’s casting was confirmed in December 2024, resulting in abuse from those who strongly opposed Snape being a Black man in the new series. Harry Potter’s Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the films, hit out at the critics in July last year, saying that Essiedu was one of the “best actors I’ve ever seen in my life” and that people “being rude about him” online were being racist.
Increased security after death threats
In response to Esseidu revealing that he received death threats over his casting, HBO CEO Casey Bloys confirmed that the production has implemented “serious security” measures to protect the cast.
Speaking to Variety on Wednesday (25 March), the executive said that with passionate fans and many opinions, “it can get scary in places” for the stars and that they’re prepared with a “serious security team” on set.
The following day, he told Deadline that actors had been warned that they may encounter “unpleasant and aggressive” behaviour from fans, adding that they “talked to them about what to expect, what to expect on social media and how we handle it”.
Former Harry Potter director asks ‘what’s the point?’
It isn’t just fans who’ve criticised the Harry Potter series – with film director Chris Columbus questioning why the franchise is being adapted again due to similarities between the new show and the films.
It came after photos of Frost as Hagrid were published, showing him in a very similar outfit to the one worn by Robbie Coltrane in the films. Meanwhile, Warwick Davis is reprising the role of Professor Filius Flitwick in the show – having portrayed the character in all of the films.
The director, who worked on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, said in August that he got “déjà vu” from the photos which left him asking “what’s the point” in the remake.
“I thought the costumes and everything was going to be different, but it’s more of the same. It’s all going to be the same.”
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