‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Announces Harry, Ron and Hermione Casting

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which will serve as a continuation of the beloved series, has announced the casting of the series’ main trio. And there’s already controversy surrounding the decision.

Broadway alum Jamie Parker, Paul Thornley and Olivier winner Noma Dumezweni are set to take on the roles of the all grown up Hogwarts alums Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively. The three will star in the play, a sequel to the HP stories, which will premiere in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre in the summer of 2016.

People have already started picking apart the fact that Hermione has been cast as a black woman (nevermind the fact that Ron isn’t a natural ginger *gasp!*), and the mastermind behind the wizarding world, JK Rowling, has released the statement to end all statements about the controversy:

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

Even Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, chimed in with his support of Dumezweni’s casting, reminding fans that his own casting differed from how fans may have thought Longbottom should look:

And Neville Longbottom was blonde. I really don’t care. Good luck to her. https://t.co/0JNjK3Pe0V

— Matthew Lewis (@Mattdavelewis) December 21, 2015

So what has the new Hermione herself had to say about all the new attention directed at her?

Um… So. Just seen my feed BLOW UP… What’s THAT about?! ????????????????!

— MissNoma (@MissDumezweni) December 20, 2015

It looks like she’s keeping things light and ignoring the haters. Good for her!

If you’d like to purchase tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, head on over to HarryPotterthePlay.com!

Photo Credit: Twitter