Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Casting Announcement — Page 3

You do realize there are avid fans of the Harry Potter books who don't care for the movies at all, right? Not everyone is locked into that vision or depiction.

I happen to like both.

For Namo ...

Best12bars writes: You do realize there are avid fans of the Harry Potter books who don't care for the movies at all, right? Not everyone is locked into that vision or depiction.

I agree there are fans of the books who don't like the HP movies. They're not the problem -- they'll be perfectly happy with anyone who looks like the descriptions in the book (which the new Harry and Ron do not, IMO). The problem is that the movie fans picture the "big 3" as Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson.

I mentioned one possible solution: A quick line or two of dialogue that talks about some magical transformation in appearance -- perhaps a potion gone wrong. Another, at least for Hermione, is to have a disclaimer in the program book saying that this production is not related to the movies, but is intended only as a sequel to the books. It won't work, however, for Ron and Harry because their hair colors ARE described in the book.

Audrey

WickedGinger said: "The same would said is the cast a white actor to play Knigsley Shacklebolt or a woman to play professor Dumbledore. I also have a major problem with the casting of Ron. He isn't a red head."

Who the hell in Knigsley Shacklebolt? I read the books and I don't recall that character. And since when have only natural redheads been allowed to play redheads in film and theater? Hairdye and wigs both exist.

gypsy101 said: "WickedGinger said: "The same would said is the cast a white actor to play Knigsley Shacklebolt or a woman to play professor Dumbledore. I also have a major problem with the casting of Ron. He isn't a red head."

Who the hell in Knigsley Shacklebolt? I read the books and I don't recall that character. And since when have only natural redheads been allowed to play redheads in film and theater? Hairdye and wigs both exist.

"

Kingsley Shacklebolt is one of the Aurors who is loyal to Dumbledore.

#AHLiebros: take several seats and don't come back in this thread please. your suggestions to tell people why Hermione is black are utterly awful

These comments are just ridiculous on this, that people are being condemned for not being accepting of an actress in a part they do not think she looks right for. (Please note I have said 'look', no mention of her ability as no one has seen her in the role.)

The people who have imagined Hermione to look the way she has been cast in the play get to be ecstatic, however for those who imagined her another way are not allowed to be disappointed.

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 04:19 AM

Just. Oy.

I don't care one bit about the casting. We (yanks) are not going to see this casting (for the most part). is it odd to take casting in such a sharp turn? Yes, but if you can believe in dragons and magic, who cares what she looks like?

I actually.liked when Rowling ended the last book closing the door on HP. I don't actually care if that door is opened again.

best12bars said: "There are a whole lotta bigots and racists in this thread. Wow.

You have a much bigger problem to deal with than the casting of Hermione.

"

Whose comments are you referring to?

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 06:15 AM

WickedGinger said: "best12bars said: "There are a whole lotta bigots and racists in this thread. Wow.

You have a much bigger problem to deal with than the casting of Hermione.

"

Whose comments are you referring to?

"

Who do you think??

You would think people on these boards would have the class and good sense not to perpetuate a nontroversy like this whole Black Hermione furor.

* sigh*

Aside from one instance where JKR used the word 'white' to describe the effect of fear on Hermione's facial complexion, no description of her ethnicity and skin color was ever given, so this doesn't actually violate anything that was previously laid out in official Canon and is honestly a whole lot of Much Ado about Nothing.

As an aside, official HP Canon, to my knowledge, consists of the novels, the two textbooks, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Pottermore, any statements made by JKR directly, this play, and the Fantastic Beasts films. The 8 movies are officially licensed and approved adaptations, but aren't official Canon in and of themselves even though they do contain Canonical elements.

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 10:13 AM

best12bars said: "There are a whole lotta bigots and racists in this thread. Wow.

You have a much bigger problem to deal with than the casting of Hermione.

"

I think the people who shout "yay" just because she is black have serious problems too.

Now I don't mind this casting at all, she clearly was better than everyone else at the audition, so I'm glad for her. This is a fantasy role in a fantasy land which can be played by anyone.

I do think it's important though that we keep noticing age, gender, looks, characteristics AND skin color. Not all roles are for black people, just as not all roles are for females or age 50+ or whatever. It is just an important characteristic that should not be ignored. Colorblind casting therefore is rude in a way. Especially in pieces based on true events.

If skin color doesn't matter for a certain role, such as this fantasy role, it is fine. Everyone will still see and notice the characteristic, but there is no way of telling what is/was accurate because it's fantasy. The only thing is that if a character suddenly has a gender/age/skin color swap, it needs some explanation. (or any other visible characteristic that is part of casting).

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 11:18 AM

I thought it was odd that the article focused primarily on the aspect of Hermoine's race, as it doesn't really matter what race any of these characters are. It's a play about magic for christakes and you have loons like wickedginger going cray cray about race. THE LULZ.

Updated On: 12/23/15 at 11:47 AM

"I think they should have cast someone younger as Ron."

"That's fine."

"I think they should have cast a white actress as Hermione."

"OMG, you can't think that, that's RACIST!"

Everyone needs to calm the F down. Why does this hysteria erupt every time race is brought up? WickedGinger is disappointed in the casting, because it's not how he pictured Hermione. So what? Just ... let him be disappointed. What difference does it make? Book readers gets images in their heads about how a character looks, and it's exciting for them when the characters in a film adaptation match their mental image. It's like their imagination is up there right on the screen. You've heard the expression "He stepped right out of the book," no doubt. WickedGinger doesn't get to have this experience. It's disappointing for him. Get over it. It's not about "believing" in a black Hermione, the way you believe in unicorns and magic wands. It's about accepting this character as the same character you've been reading about for years. I mean, I still can't accept Hugh Jackman's Wolverine as the Wolverine I grew up reading about, because he's too tall, too handsome, and too charming, which is not at all what the comic book version is like. I think he's fine in the role, and has made it his own, but his Wolverine is not Marvel Comics's Wolverine. I didn't get that "he stepped off the page" experience, which was a little disappointing, but I got over it. Just like WickedGinger will get over it.

AHLiebross - No explanation is needed, because we've never seen these characters before. This is not a sequel to the movies, and even if it were, we still wouldn't need an explanation, any more than we needed an explanation for why Dumbledore suddenly looked so different.