Since Warner Bros. announced that Harry Potter was being rebooted in the form of a television series on HBO, there has been a lot of discussion about who would replace the cast from the films; in particular, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, who played the main trio Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, respectively.Many fans expected that some characters would be portrayed by non-White actors in the reboot, especially following the West End play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016), in which Eswatini-born actress Noma Dumezweni took on the role of Hermione. Since that initial portrayal, the character has been consistently played by non-White actors on stage.Fueling those expectations was the recent announcement that Black actor Paapa Essiedu (Black Mirror) would be playing Severus Snape in the series. Essiedu was confirmed alongside John Lithgow (Dexter) as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds) as Minerva McGonagall, Luke Thallon (Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt) as Quirinus Quirrell, and Paul Whitehouse (Harry & Paul) as Argus Filch. However, more recently, the new Harry, Ron, and Hermione were revealed.Credit: Inside the MagicPer Variety, Dominic McLaughlin will play Harry Potter, Alastair Stout will take on the role of Ron Weasley, and Arabella Stanton will step in as Hermione Granger. While Stanton, currently best known for playing Matilda in the West End musical, appears to be dark-skinned, fans continue to debate her ethnicity (not that it should matter in the slightest).Nevertheless, taking into account the casting of Essiedu alone, it’s fair to say that the new Harry Potter ensemble is already more diverse than that of the films. One person who might agree is actor Anthony Mackie, who’s best known for playing Sam Wilson/Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, more recently in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).In a 2023 interview with Inverse, while talking about his then-upcoming film Spark, which follows Claudette Colvin’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, the MCU star said that there were no opportunities for young Black actors in the eight Harry Potter films. He also criticized The Lord of the Rings films for having the same problem. Here’s what he said:“Harry Potter had no f***ing Black friends. Frodo walked across the entire universe and never met a Black dude. I want to see Frodo in the Hood, which if I ever do Saturday Night Live, is going to be a skit I’m going to do.”Of course, the Harry Potter films do feature non-White actors, such as Katie Leung (Cho Chang) and Alfred Lewis Enoch (Dean Thomas). However, these are only supporting roles.Credit: Marvel StudiosRelated: Marvel Legend Becomes Favorite To Play Lord Voldemort in ‘Harry Potter’ RebootNow, it’s likely that HBO will continue to cast actors of color in leading roles as opposed to just supporting ones. As for The Lord of the Rings, while the films’ cast is entirely White, the Amazon Prime series The Rings of Power (2022) does feature a far more diverse lineup.With production set to begin this summer, the Harry Potter TV series is said to be a “faithful adaptation” of the seven books by J.K. Rowling, with one season dedicated to each story.Francesca Gardiner (Succession, His Dark Materials) is the showrunner and an executive producer while Mark Mylod (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) will also executive-produce and direct multiple episodes. J.K. Rowling is also an executive producer, along with Neil Blair, and Ruth Kenley-Letts of Brontë Film and TV, and David Heyman of Heyday Films.Click here to find out everything there is to know about the new Harry Potter series.Do you think the Harry Potter casting in the films is diverse enough? What do you think of the new cast so far? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!The post “Harry Had No F***ing Black Friends”, Marvel Star Slams ‘Harry Potter’ Casting appeared first on Inside the Magic.