The casting of Paapa Essiedu as Snape has set off controversies from many different sides of Harry Potter fandom, or even outside of that, for multiple reasons.

As HBO finalizes its cast for the highly anticipated Harry Potter television series, reports indicate that Paapa Essiedu is in the final stages of negotiations to portray Professor Severus Snape, according to Deadline.

British actor Paapa Essiedu is set to play Severus Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter series, stirring mixed reactions among fans regarding racial representation and loyalty to the original character's description.

W as Severus Snape hot? This is the million-dollar — or perhaps, million-Galleon — question that sits at the heart of the Harry Potter franchise and plagues Reddit to this ver

The Harry Potter series will debut on HBO in late 2026 or early 2027. While Paapa Essiedu in talks to play Professor Severus Snape, John Lithgow will be seen as Professor Albus Dumbledore.

The casting decision is rather controversial considering Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, said the series was supposed to be a “faithful adaptation” of J.K. Rowling’s novels. Showrunner Francesca Gardiner even said that the show will stick to the “canonical” age of Snape, who will be only 31.

With filming expected to begin this summer, the Harry Potter HBO TV show is close to finding the actors to play McGonagall and Snape.

After months of casting rumors, HBO is reportedly zeroing in on two key casting decisions for its massive Harry Potter series. According to reports, Paapa

With Paapa Essiedu cast as Severus Snape in a way that fundamentally alters storylines in the source material, the same may happen with Hermione.