There's been plenty of debate surrounding HBO's upcoming Harry Potter reboot, especially over some of its casting decisions. One of the more controversial casting choices has been Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, a role made famous by the late Alan Rickman in the original eight films.
While some fans are excited to see a new interpretation of the wizarding world, others aren't convinced that Harry Potter needs to be remade in the first place. Essiedu understands that attachment to the original movies, and he has a message for anyone worried about what HBO's adaptation means for the franchise.
"There are people who have got such a tight and deeply felt connection to something that they believe is theirs, and it feels like somebody is trying to take their thing and break their thing," Essiedu explained.
Acknowledging that some fans have a deeply personal connection to the books and films, Essiedu made it clear that the new series won't erase what came before it.
"I know that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm not trying to break anybody's nothing," he said. "After this, we're not going to burn the books. We're not going to remove the DVDs of the films. It's not the end of that. That all still exists."
Essiedu has a tough act to follow, stepping into a role once portrayed by the late Alan Rickman. He isn't trying to make audiences forget Rickman's performance, though, and has nothing but praise for the actor.
"The guy is an icon. He's a legend," Essiedu said. "Anyone who's ever met Alan or spoken to him or been friends with him have all reached out to me and spoken about what Alan would've thought about my casting. There's so much goodwill, and I really feel him with me."
Interestingly, Essiedu also revealed that he never watched the Harry Potter movies when he was younger. He reread the books to prepare for the role, but he's hoping to establish his own take on Snape rather than recreate Rickman's performance. With each season of HBO's series expected to adapt one of J.K. Rowling's seven novels, the actor believes the longer format could allow him to explore Snape's complicated personality in greater detail.
"Hopefully I get the opportunity to pull the contradictions and the unexpected masks of Severus so that eventually we get a human being that is fully fleshed [out] and living and breathing," he explained.
There's no denying that Rickman's Snape will be a tough act to follow, but HBO's reboot was always going to face comparisons to the original films, regardless of who was cast. Essiedu seems to understand that fans have strong feelings about the characters they grew up with. He's simply hoping they'll give this new version a chance to tell its own story.
"I got a lot of love as well," he said, acknowledging the racist abuse and death threats he has received. "That really fuels me as much as the hate."