Who will Paapa Essiedu play in the Harry Potter reboot series? Actor signs open letter supporting trans rights after Supreme Court's recent ruling

Harry Potter reboot series actor Paapa Essiedu has recently signed an open letter in support of trans, binary, and intersex communities. The 34-year-old actor became one of the 400+ people to attest their support for the cause. These include celebrity signatories like Nicola Coughlan, Molly Manning Walker, Harris Dickinson, and Bella Ramsey, among others.

Started by Sid Strickland and Jack Casey, the letter expresses solidarity towards the LGBTQIA+ community after the U.K. Supreme Court's April 16, 2025, ruling. As per a report by the Times of London, the verdict establishes that the words "woman" and "sex" strictly refer to a biological woman and biological sex.

The open letter, as reported by Deadline, reads:

“The Supreme Court’s ruling that, under the Equality Act, ‘woman’ is defined by biological sex, states that ‘the concept of sex is binary, a person is either a woman or a man’. We believe the ruling undermines the lived reality and threatens the safety of trans, non-binary and intersex people living in the U.K. Film and television are powerful tools for empathy and education, and we believe passionately in the ability of the screen to change hearts and minds.”

On April 14, 2025, Paapa Essiedu was confirmed as the actor to play Severus Snape in the Max reboot of Harry Potter by Warner Bros. Discovery. Essiedu has supported the trans community despite Harry Potter creator and executive producer JK Rowling siding with the Supreme Court's verdict.

Quoting a tweet reporting the verdict, Rowling wrote on X on April 16, 2025:

"It took three extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them to get this case heard by the Supreme Court and, in winning, they’ve protected the rights of women and girls across the UK. @ForWomenScot , I’m so proud to know you."

A day later, the Harry Potter author returned to the platform to post a photo of herself with a drink and smoking a cigar.

Other Harry Potter franchise actors like Eddie Redmayne, Katie Leung, Daisy Haggard, and Charlotte Ritchie have also signed the pledge championing LGBTQIA+ rights. In 2020, Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson publicly disagreed with JK Rowling on her views on trans rights.

When Paapa Essiedu spoke about his fear of getting typecasted, "particularly as a young black actor"

Paapa Essiedu's recent casting as the iconic Severus Snape in the Harry Potter reboot series has divided the franchise's massive fanbase. While some are excited to see Paapa Essiedu in his new avatar, others have critiqued the casting choice of the character played by the legendary Alan Rickman.

Over the years, Paapa Essiedu has created a reputation for taking on a wide spectrum of roles, from playing a demon in Black Mirror to being cast as a time-travelling gunman in The Lazarus Project. The actor spoke about his penchant for diversity in a 2023 interview with RadioTimes.com. During the discourse, Paapa Essiedu explained that he didn't want to get typecast into one particular shade of characters.

"That's something that's always been very high on my list, because people will try and typecast you, particularly as a young Black actor, a young Black male actor....They'll try and make you into a very certain type of thing. Or they'll try and say, 'Oh, this is what Idris [Elba] did,' or, 'This is what Lennie James did,' or David Gyasi, or David Oyelowo... 'You should do that, as well,'" Paapa Essiedu explained.

The I May Destroy You actor continued:

"The reason why they have gone on to have the careers they have is because they've been individual, and they've been conscientious in not allowing people to tell them what to do, and make them do the same thing again and again."

He further stressed the attribute of being "brave enough to do something [one has] not done before." According to Essiedu, actors are lucky to work with an assortment of creative personnel and must look to make bold choices.

The other confirmed casting choices for the Harry Potter series include John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, Paul Whitehouse as Argus Filch, and Luke Thallon as Professor Quirinus Quirrell.

As per Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, the show is slated to release in 2026.

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