Petition Launched To Remove Paapa Essiedu As Severus Snape In Upcoming Harry Potter TV Series
A petition has been launched to have HBO remove actor Paapa Essiedu from his role as Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
After months of rumors, HBO confirmed that Paapa Essiedu would play a race-swapped Snape in the upcoming live-action Harry Potter TV series that they have repeatedly claimed would be “a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter book series by author executive producer J.K. Rowling.”
Now, a petition has been launched to have HBO remove Essiedu as Snape. Created by Severus Snape Supremacy, the Change.org petition states, “We believe that the Harry Potter franchise deserves the utmost respect when it comes to casting decisions, and that the character of Snape should be portrayed by someone who honors Alan Rickman’s portrayal while also maintaining the essence of the character as written in J.K. Rowling’s books.”
The petition currently has 5,817 verified signatures.
Essiedu looks nothing like how Severus Snape is described in the books nor how author J.K. Rowling depicted him in art work she created for the character. As seen in the 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone she shared her own art work of the character.
She also wrote, “Snape as I always saw him. This was scribbled back in 1992 or 3. Although I have spent years denying that Snape is a vampire (one of the more outlandish and persistent fan theories), I must say he does look a little like Count Dracula-ish in that cloak.”
On top of that, Warner Bros. released merchandise and artwork of Snape before Alan Rickman had been cast as the character. He was depicted as white.
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Of note, a rumor indicates that Essiedu has been sacked from the show. X account Daily Harry Potter reported, “Paapa Essiedu might be sacked as Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter series on HBO Max.”
“This is just a rumor, nothing is confirmed yet,” it added.
What do you make of this petition? Will you sign it?
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This seems silly. It is an eyebrow-raising casting that introduces racial tensions into scenes where there are none in the source material, but maybe he will do a good job. Plenty of different people play Romeo or Hamlet.
I have done so. Those petitions are not exactly powerful, but taking small steps to make ones disapproval known to TPTB is probably worth the 30 seconds. Now to unsubscribe from their emails again....