As the cast of the much awaited Harry Potter stage adaptation has been revealed, not all of the fans in social media seem that excited on the news that the character of Hermione Granger will be played by a black woman.
Mixed reactions spurred on social media on the announcement that Noma Dumezweni, a black theatre actress will play the role of Hogwarts school of magic student Hermione Granger in the play "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," based on the well-loved novels by J.K. Rowling. Most reactions were positive but there were fans who are completely opposed to the idea, arguing that the character should be white.
Following the issue on social media is J.K. Rowling's reaction on Twitter to those who are not sold to the idea of the grown-up Miss Granger played by a black woman:
@jk_rowling: Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione [kiss emoji]
New York Times writes that any resistance to Dumezweni's casting only proves how appropriate it is and that among the most important aspects of Hermione Granger's character in the novel is that bigots of her own world considers the young wizard as "impure" and "illegitimate."
The casting decisions of the production might be very surprising to fans since the whole world has grown to love the movie adaptation where actress Emma Watson who portrayed a young, white Hermione Granger used to do well.
With the heated debates on social media aside, fans all over the world would still see how the stage adaptation of the Harry Potter sequel will work its magic.
The play is directed by John Tiffany while written by Jack Thorne and devised by JK Rowling. "The production should be viewed "as canon" and has been split onto two parts due to its "epic" nature," The Independent writes.
"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" previews will begin on June 2016 with the opening performances of Part One and Part Two on July 30, 2016.
