Lumos! A black actress, Noma Dumezweni, was announced on Sunday, December 20, as the new Hermione Granger in the upcoming London theatrical production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child — and J.K. Rowling is beyond pleased.
The Harry Potter series creator, 50, excitedly took to her Twitter shortly after the news was announced and shut down any racist outcry. A reader brought up the casting in a Twitter thread, and wrote: “Like. Especially Rowling. How does she feel about black Hermione. I need to know.”
Though the person did not tag the author herself, Rowling replied directly to the fan.
Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione ? https://t.co/5fKX4InjTH
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015
Granger was previously portrayed by Caucasian actress Emma Watson in the eight Harry Potter films. However, as Rowling states, the character’s ethnicity and background were never specified in the books. Instead, Rowling simply described Hermione’s physical characteristics as a girl with unruly “brown hair” and matching eyes.
Meanwhile, Dumezweni, a Swaziland native, reacted to her casting news on Sunday via Twitter.
Um… So. Just seen my feed BLOW UP… What’s THAT about?! ????!
— MissNoma (@MissDumezweni) December 20, 2015
The play itself, written by Jack Thorne, will show the three central characters of the series, Harry Potter, Hermione, and Ron Weasley, working into adulthood at the wild Ministry of Magic. Guys and Dolls actor Jamie Parker will portray the adult version of Potter, while London Road actor Paul Thornley will play Potter’s best friend, Weasley.
The Potter play will open on July 30, 2016, at the Palace Theatre in London.
