The HBO Harry Potter trailer dropped on March 25, 2026, and the response was not all excitement. A significant chunk of the online reaction went straight to one casting choice. Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape. And Essiedu is not staying quiet about what that backlash has actually looked like.
Essiedu Is Getting Death Threats, and He Is Choosing to Use Them as Fuel
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit, or I’ll m—- you,‘” Essiedu told The Times. “The reality is that if I look at Instagram, I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’ While I hope I’ll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in Harry Potter.”
He also said the abuse is not stopping him. “The abuse fuels me. And makes me more passionate about making this character my own, because I think of how I felt as a kid.”
Essiedu grew up reading books at a local library when his mother could not afford a babysitter. The idea that a kid who looked like him could see themselves in that world is exactly why he took the role.
HBO has responded by putting a serious security team in place. CEO Casey Bloys confirmed it to Variety.
“With all actors on any kind of big IP shows, it can get scary in places. So for any show like that, we anticipated it and tried to have training, best practices in terms of social media, and how to handle it. And obviously we’ve got a serious security team,” he said.
The backlash is being called out plainly by people who know Essiedu’s work. Jason Isaacs, who played Lucius Malfoy in the original films, said at Fan Expo Denver that he has seen the online criticism.
“What they’re being is racist,” he said. He also predicted people would be “swallowing their digital tongues” once they see what Essiedu actually does in the role.
Essiedu is not the only one dealing with the heat. John Lithgow said he considered quitting the show over backlash related to J.K. Rowling’s views on trans rights. Nick Frost made clear his own views do not align with Rowling’s in any way.
Essiedu signed an open letter in solidarity with trans and non-binary artists and said he would sign it again.
The show premieres on Christmas Day 2026. Essiedu will be playing Snape for potentially a decade. He is 45 by the time it ends if the full seven seasons happen. That is a commitment he made with full knowledge of what was coming.
He knew. He signed anyway. The abuse is not changing that.
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