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[Bert Big Balls]

Who else thought Paapa Essiedu was the main guy from the band Ghost?

Nah, it's the gypsy guy from league of gentlemen.

 

[analog_future]

If the dude's a talented actor, then great! Excited to see his interpretation of the role.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

The Hannibal TV series race and gender swapped a ton of characters, and it was still a masterpiece. Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford and Lara Chorostecki as Freddie Lounds.

Shit doesn't mean anything, as long as the actors are good.

Those choices are excellent.

It's not only about the actor being "good". He must give off the same vibes as the original. The problem with this one is that it has nothing distinctive; it's a terrible pick. If they want a black guy, he should be something like this:

 

[Hookshot]

Nah, it's the gypsy guy from league of gentlemen.

 

[rubik's dude]

You are not gonna convince me that out of the all the actors who tried the part, there was not a white, older, average looking dude that was better for the part than this dude.

When dealing with ignorance, it's not about convincing someone that they're wrong in one conversation.

It took years for you to form your worldview. For your perceptions to change, your beliefs have to constantly be challenged, and our conversation was just a stone's throw in that ocean.

Those choices are excellent.

It's not only about the actor being "good". He must give off the same vibes as the original. The problem with this one is that it has nothing distinctive; it's a terrible pick. If they want a black guy, he should be something like this:

BRO! Great minds think alike. I was literally about to bring up a picture of Tony Todd as Candyman. Dude looks decrepit as fuck in that role.

Definitely somebody like him would've been a better choice, but I'll hold out judgment until I see set photos.

 

[bitbydeath]

When dealing with ignorance, it's not about convincing someone that they're wrong in one conversation.

It took years for you to form your worldview. For your perceptions to change, your beliefs have to constantly be challenged, and our conversation was just a stone's throw in that ocean.

No offence but you’re just coming off as an asshole. Grow up dude!

 

[bitbydeath]

Those choices are excellent.

It's not only about the actor being "good". He must give off the same vibes as the original. The problem with this one is that it has nothing distinctive; it's a terrible pick. If they want a black guy, he should be something like this:

Now that would have been something. RIP!

 

[KyoZz]

It's the guy from Gangs of London. He's an ok actor but for Rogue...? Nah.

 

[rkofan87]

i will stick too the movies and the books thanks.

 

[SidViscous]

Who else thought Paapa Essiedu was the main guy from the band Ghost?

Isn't it the Civ 4 opening theme?

Edit: For what it's worth I'm not against or for any casting at this stage, lets just see how they are on screen, moving away from the movie cast might be sensible to avoid direct comparisons.

 

[Banjo64]

Easy one to boycott. The movies are timeless.

 

[Artoris]

Isn't it the Civ 4 opening theme?

Edit: For what it's worth I'm not against or for any casting at this stage, lets just see how they are on screen, moving away from the movie cast might be sensible to avoid direct comparisons.

"Isn't it the Civ 4 opening theme?"

it is one of my favorites

 

[rubik's dude]

No offence but you’re just coming off as an asshole. Grow up dude!

Grow past judging people by their skin color.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Must be a great actor to be able to pull off middle aged white emo dude. That's Method (Man) acting that is utterly (ridiculous, how sick is this?) beyond us pretenders of the craft.

 

[Saiyan-Rox]

This is really bad in all honesty.

Waiting for one of the twins to be trans and Peter dinkledge to be hagrid

 

[bitbydeath]

Grow past judging people by their skin color.

You’re not even understanding anything that’s been said and are doubling down on race. Yes grow-up.

 

[SJRB]

Grow past judging people by their skin color.

What the fuck are you talking about?

They blackwashed Snape, of course people are going to judge that choice.

 

[rubik's dude]

You’re not even understanding anything that’s been said and are doubling down on race. Yes grow-up.

If it's not about race, then explain what it is about. Also, if hate can be learned, it can be un-learned, fyi.

 

[rubik's dude]

What the fuck are you talking about?

They blackwashed Snape, of course people are going to judge that choice.

He was never white in the books to begin with. He was gaunt, greasy, and pale. That could be anyone.

 

[bitbydeath]

If it's not about race, then explain what it is about. Also, if hate can be learned, it can be un-learned, fyi.

Imagine if Tom Holland were cast as Snape, you think people would be happy with that because he is white?

This guy is a black Tom Holland.

 

[Puscifer]

I mean honestly JK would be behind this when you think about it. Hermione being black and Dumbledore being gay was ok at one point: Just don't ask her what is a woman

 

[ResilientBanana]

Race swaps are no bother. It doesn’t change the story.

 

[GymWolf]

He was never white in the books to begin with. He was gaunt, greasy, and pale. That could be anyone.

 

[Dural]

Snape is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes. He wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of "an overgrown bat". The youthful Snape had a "stringy, pallid look", being "round-shouldered yet angular", having a "twitchy" walk "that recalled a spider" and "long oily hair that jumped about his face".

Like I said earlier, horrible casting.

 

[Hari Seldon]

The only time I care about race swaps is if it is an actual historical figure. This is all made up, whogivesashit.gif.

 

[Dural]

Adam Driver would have made a good Snape;

 

[PapaEmeritus]

Who else thought Paapa Essiedu was the main guy from the band Ghost?

You called?

 

[rubik's dude]

Imagine if Tom Holland were cast as Snape, you think people would be happy with that because he is white?

This guy is a black Tom Holland.

For one, maybe he could be good as Snape. Age prosthetics, makeup, and practical effects can transform anyone. Look at Colin Farrel as Penguin, or Bill Skarsgard as Orlok.

Secondly, you're willfully ignoring why people have a problem with this actor playing Snape:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince of Bel Air

homeboy here

Blatant racism is the catalyst for the criticism. Not because, "It'd be weird if Tom Holland played him, too."

 

[bitbydeath]

Adam Driver would have made a good Snape;

My pick would’ve been Richard Harmon.

 

[rubik's dude]

Snape is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes. He wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of "an overgrown bat". The youthful Snape had a "stringy, pallid look", being "round-shouldered yet angular", having a "twitchy" walk "that recalled a spider" and "long oily hair that jumped about his face".

Like I said earlier, horrible casting.

So they'll be using costumes, makeup, prosthetics, and practical effects to make him look like Snape? Like they did for Alan Rickman in the movies?

Cool!

 

[bitbydeath]

For one, maybe he could be good as Snape. Age prosthetics, makeup, and practical effects can transform anyone. Look at Colin Farrel as Penguin, or Bill Skarsgard as Orlok.

Secondly, you're willfully ignoring why people have a problem with this actor playing Snape:


Blatant racism is the catalyst for the criticism. Not because, "It'd be weird if Tom Holland played him, too."

I don’t think you understand the character of Snape.

#1, he must look evil/devious.

 

[rubik's dude]

Cool, so not in the book.

Also, didn't JK Rowling cast a black actress as Hermione in the Cursed Child? When they officially announce a black actress as Hermione in the show, you'll be cool with that, eh?

 

[rubik's dude]

I don’t think you understand the character of Snape.

#1, he must look evil/devious.

What makes you think Tom Holland, or the actor they got to play Snape, can't look evil/devious with practical effects? Unrelated Elijah Wood picture:

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

Defense against the dark arts.
The meta alone makes this casting choice worth it.

Reminds me of this.

 

[MrTroubleMaker]

wtf ....

 

[bitbydeath]

What makes you think Tom Holland, or the actor they got to play Snape, can't look evil/devious with practical effects? Unrelated Elijah Wood picture:

That looks awful.
That is a great example why make-up can’t do the job.

 

[rubik's dude]

That looks awful.
That is a great example why make-up can’t do the job.

Are you saying they didn't use makeup on Alan Rickman for Snape lol?

 

[bitbydeath]

Are you saying they didn't use makeup on Alan Rickman for Snape lol?

All actors wear makeup, but he does look naturally devious so it wouldn’t have been needed to make him look bad.

 

[Soodanim]

No offense, but nobody cares about what race Snape is other than unhinged adults obsessed with a series of children's books.

You are being rather disingenuous with this.

If you're going to argue with people about it, at least consider the idea that just because you're not quite seeing the full breadth of justification for not liking a casting choice it doesn't mean it isn't there. There's an irony to your closed-mindedness while you throw accusations at people.

If it's not about race, then explain what it is about. Also, if hate can be learned, it can be un-learned, fyi.

It is about visual characteristics, and like it or not characters have them. Remember the backlash because inFamous 2 initially had a redesigned Cole that changed his hair style from bald to Nathan Drake-ish and gave him tattoos? That wasn't even a race swap and the appearance didn't inform the character but it wasn't Cole and people didn't like it. Characters to some extent are their appearance. We're visual creatures and we're talking about books where detailed descriptions are given because barring exceptions like drawings that's all you have to go on. We know what characters look like.

Is this not supposed to be a faithful Harry Potter adaptation? This casting choice suggests that faithfulness is not exactly the top priority. I wouldn't want a Mexican Cho Chang, Chinese Kingsley Shacklebolt, female Dumbledore, or the Weasleys being a family of albinos, either. That's not what those characters are. There are more options than liking the casting or being racist.

The only good reason to retell the books in a TV series format is to adapt them more faithfully than the movies did. To cast a key character waaaaaay off the description isn't a good indicator of faithful intentions. Instead, why not tell a new story in the world? We've had very few of them but there's so much room for it. No existing descriptions to fall short of, but room to start something new. You could set it anywhere in the world and tell any story. I would much rather see that.

 

[rubik's dude]

All actors wear makeup, but he does look naturally devious so it wouldn’t have been needed to make him look bad.

Define what makes someone look naturally devious, and why Paapa Essiedu doesn't meet those qualifications. Is this more naturally devious:

Than this:

 

[rubik's dude]

You are being rather disingenuous with this.

It's disingenuous to pretend the actor's race isn't the catalyst for the criticism.

 

[jason10mm]

It's disingenuous to pretend the actor's race isn't the catalyst for the criticism.

Its also disengenuous to pretend that race is the ONLY catalyst for criticism.

 

[Tams]

I just tried watching the newest Death in Paradise, which is supposed to be about a white bumbling, autistic British detective sent/seconded to the Caribbean. A complete fish out of water and treated with suspicion/mocked by the locals, and how he, mostly unintentionally, ends up endearing himself to them. The latest season has him as a BAME.

As a BAME myself, I do not want any of this.

Bond is going to be next, isn't he?

 

[rubik's dude]

Its also disengenuous to pretend that race is the ONLY catalyst for criticism.

And it's also disingenuous to pretend that it hasn't been the only criticism so far in this thread lmao.

 

[Atrus]

It’s a little bit funny because Snape is someone that Harry suspects is an evil, suspicious character just from the way he looks and acts towards Harry and the gang.

Now, unless Harry himself is black it’ll all come off as if Harry is a racist prick.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Snape is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes. He wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of "an overgrown bat". The youthful Snape had a "stringy, pallid look", being "round-shouldered yet angular", having a "twitchy" walk "that recalled a spider" and "long oily hair that jumped about his face".

Like I said earlier, horrible casting.

Guess he needs to be black then. Makes sense.

 

[rubik's dude]

I'm just glad to see that JK Rowling is heavily involved in the show. Not only that, she personally casted the actress who plays Hermione in the Cursed Child. Canonically, this is Hermione:

So I'm sure everyone here complaining about authenticity won't have any problems once Hermione's actress is announced! Right? Cause it totally isn't about race, it's about staying authentic to the author's intent?

 

[Banjo64]

I'm just glad to see that JK Rowling is heavily involved in the show. Not only that, she personally casted the actress who plays Hermione in the Cursed Child. Canonically, this is Hermione:

So I'm sure everyone here complaining about authenticity won't have any problems once Hermione's actress is announced! Right? Cause it totally isn't about race, it's about staying authentic to the author's intent?

Brother it’s a Friday night, chill the fuck out

 

[bitbydeath]

Define what makes someone look naturally devious, and why Paapa Essiedu doesn't meet those qualifications. Is this more naturally devious:

Than this:

You’re either trolling or need glasses.

 

[Tams]

For one, maybe he could be good as Snape. Age prosthetics, makeup, and practical effects can transform anyone. Look at Colin Farrel as Penguin, or Bill Skarsgard as Orlok.

Secondly, you're willfully ignoring why people have a problem with this actor playing Snape:


Blatant racism is the catalyst for the criticism. Not because, "It'd be weird if Tom Holland played him, too."

You cannot say he hasn't been cast mainly because he is black. It's box ticking and tokenism.

And isn't that where the racism truly lies?