HBO's Harry Potter Needed Less Than 5 Seconds To Prove Us Wrong

Published Sep 15, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT

Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. 

Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).

It only took a handful of short seconds for HBO's Harry Potter TV show to prove that it knows what it is doing. This came in the form of the remake's recent trailer, which gives viewers the most in-depth look at this version of the Wizarding world yet. It's clear from just those few minutes that HBO is working hard to keep its promise to remain as book-faithful as possible, and it looks as if Harry Potter season 1 will feature a handful of new delights as well. When breaking down the trailer, there's clearly a whole lot to look forward to.

Of course, the vast majority of those watching this new Harry Potter trailer will be looking as closely as possible at the new cast members who have stepped into these beloved roles. It's no easy thing to see unfamiliar actors take the places of those we knew and loved from the Harry Potter movies, and that's true for the cast both young and old. Still, it's hard to deny that Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton, and Alastair Stout fall easily into their roles, as do John Lithgow, Nick Frost​​​​​, Janet McTeer, and, yes, Paapa Essiedu.

While every new cast member has faced backlash, none have been so fiercely attacked as Essiedu, who is playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter TV show. Alan Rickman was almost perfect for this role in every way, but that's not the only issue here. Complaints about Essiedu revolve around his age, attractiveness, and, most loudly and outrageously, his race. However, the Harry Potter trailer proves that these cries will fade away sooner rather than later.

Paapa Essiedu Is Shaping Up To Be An Excellent Severus Snape

We only see Essiedu as Severus Snape for a few short seconds in the Harry Potter trailer, but that was all that the actor needed to make an impact. HBO made a great choice regarding what scene it would use to showcase its casting, as Snape and the Boy Who Lived have a tense interaction in the dungeons during Potions lessons. Essiedu spitefully tells McLaughlin's Harry that he hopes he will demonstrate some skill on the Quidditch field, since he can't seem to muster any in the classroom.

Essiedu doesn't just deliver this line as a cheeky blow. This is an actor known both on stage and screen for his emotional depth, and with only a single line, Essiedu really dug deep. The words bite and cut. It's painfully evident just how young McLaughlin's Harry is here, yet he is so utterly despised by this grown adult. Later in the trailer, we get another brief look at Essiedu as he throws up a hand to magically put out some candles, and the loathing here is, once again, barely sitting below the surface.

There can be no slander against Alan Rickman's Severus Snape. However, it's worth noting that compared to the books, movie Snape was considerably more put together. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Snape is meant to be only 31 years old, and he is quite immature for even that age. His rages are like tantrums, and his childlike disgust toward Harry is almost unhinged. Of course, the series ultimately reveals just how painfully complicated Snape's feelings are, but that doesn't make them any less raw. We haven't seen much, but it looks as if Essiedu isn't hiding from any of this.

It Won't Take Long For HBO's Harry Potter Casting Backlash To Fade Away

HBO

Severus Snape is an extremely powerful character in just about every way. He is deeply important to the story and themes of Harry Potter, so it was naturally important that HBO take this casting extremely seriously. Unfortunately, the fact that Rickman was white, just as the book character was assumed to have been, while Essiedu is Black, gave some audiences the impression that HBO wasn't trying very hard here. Never mind the fact that this actor is decades closer to Snape's canon age than Rickman was. Never mind that Snape's race isn't actually important to the character's identity.

There are more valid concerns regarding Essiedu's casting. In terms of race, it could be problematic that one of the very few Black characters in Harry Potter is immediately considered untrustworthy and morally ambiguous. Additionally, Essiedu is a very attractive man, while Snape is meant to be greasy and rather abhorrent. Still, a shockingly strong performance will put all these complaints out of our minds. So long as Essiedu's Snape has depth, superficial issues won't stick. We won't have to question why this character is hated.

Snape can't do anything less than take our breaths away. We have to be shocked, enraged, disgusted, touched, disturbed, and so much more by this character between the start of Harry Potter season 1 and the end of season 7. This would have been among the most challenging roles for HBO to fill, and with so much money on the line, they surely weren't playing around. Essiedu got the part because he can bring something spectacular to this character. Once we see more than a few seconds of what he's got, the complaints will have faded away.

• 

  Dominic McLaughlin

  Harry Potter

• 

  Janet McTeer

  Minerva McGonagall

• 

  Albus Dumbledore

• 

  Nick Frost

  Hagrid