I saw that Paapa Esseidu is confirmed as Snape, and I like that they’ve gone for someone younger (34).
While no one can compare to Alan Rickman both he, and the actors playing Harry’s parents, were always too old for their roles. I hope they go younger with flahbacks to the Potters as well.
I tire of all this stupid posturing in place of sensible casting. I don't actually have any objection to a black cast... or a mixed race cast... or even 'creative casting' but the man Esseidu is hot in a movie star way unless he's the kind who can go 'full ugly' he's just not going to be believable.
Please note that I'm black, and I love seeing when more black folks appear in entertainment... but just stuffing them in randomly is a disservice to black folks as well as to existing stories that have characters that are really strongly defined. Yes, JK could have been more diverse.
BTW, I could more easily see a black Dumbledore or a black version of McGonnagall or almost any of the other members of staff... because the dynamic of race would not play the way it will in a portrayal of someone like Snape who was TORMENTED by characters we are supposed to end up LIKING or even LOVING.
I don't want a series about Harry Potter to become about the racial torment of Snape.
Of course, Alan Rickman was attractive too... but I think there's a much longer stretch to make Esseidu look fugly. By the time Alan was playing the role, he was past his leading man days and he was able to look the part physically... as well as playing it. And the residual attractiveness gave his 'ugly' an 'Ugly-Glamour' that really works for the role... He's dynamic and kind of scary and even when he's ugly, he's kind of sexy. It takes a lot of actor and a lot of presence to pull that off!
I think there's stringy, not so attractive black actors who could probably believably play an unattractive man who creeps people out... without it being utterly about race (assuming Padfoot, Prongs et al are white). If they cast 4 white boys to go after a young black man, it will look like a race thing... There is plenty of class-ist and other prejudice in the HP world...
Casting someone black is not a problem for me. I loved having Kingsley who happened to be black (I can't honestly remember his race in the books - Whenever I read them, I see the actor who played him in the movies) because he INHABITED the character.
I don't know enough about the actor who is supposed to become the major 'object of hate' for both Harry and his father and his father's friends, but unless the TV cast is a lot more racially varied than the book or the movies, the Marauders picking on Snape will become about 4 privileged white kids picking on a poor black one... which... makes them even harder to redeem than the original version, maybe
impossible.
Sirius, James and Remus are hard enough to like after seeing how they treated Snape in the original tale (I don't think Peter is ever likeable, he's a lickspittle from day one, all that changes is whose toady he is).
Peter and Snape are two sides of the same coin... both outsiders, both unlikeable, but one 'fits in' and the other grows a hostile demeanor and 'lashes out' (and eventually joins the 'rival' gang to find somewhere to belong, even if it's somewhere bad).
Mean kids can be screwed up and grow up into nicer people...
racist mean kids... well that's a much heavier lift and unless the story is ABOUT that HUGE transformation, racist bullying becomes a much bigger and more front and center issue than 'mere' bullying.
(NOTE: Bullying
not being remotely 'mere' for anyone who has considered, attempted or actually comitted suicide as a result. Not meant to minimize Bullying!!) I hate bullies.
I do agree that the parents of Harry were wrong in the movies and probably too old... The problem might have been that they didn't want to budget for 'expensive' 'real actors' with actual presence, so they got pallid characterless placeholders. Perhaps they should have asked Daniel Radcliffe's actual parents (assuming they resembled him/could have been made up to look enough like the book descriptions). Anyway not relevant now... we will see.
I really wish that we would get some new stories... there's so many great writers out there. Even a next gen of HP might be interesting if done right. In spite of their imperfections, I really do love Harry Potter the books, and (maybe i'm in the minority here?) but i mostly enjoyed the movies too... but maybe in 10 or 20 more years before a reboot? shrug.
If they'd had SMG for seven or eight great movies about Buffy after seven great books, I'm not sure I'd have wanted a TV show too...
