HBO’s Harry Potter reboot has been beefed up with “serious security” after actor Paapa Essiedu reportedly received death threats over his casting as Severus Snape.
Network boss Casey Bloys shared that Ghanaian-English actor Paapa Essiedu, playing Severus Snape, has faced threatening messages since joining the cast, prompting the studio to implement high security.
“With all actors on any kind of big IP shows — and this is obviously one of those where you’ve got, you know, passionate fans, people with a lot of opinions — it can get scary in places,” Bloys told Variety.
He shared, “So for any show like that, we anticipated it and tried to have training, you know, best practices in terms of social media and how to handle it. And obviously we’ve got a serious security team. So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen and we just try to be as careful as we can.”
The role of Severus Snape, famously played as a white character by Alan Rickman, drew racially motivated criticism after Essiedu was cast in 2025.
In the books, Snape’s character is the dark wizard vibe — sallow-skinned, greasy-haired, icy-eyed, feared by students but secretly loyal and deadly smart.
While speaking with The Times, Essiedu admitted getting constant backlash over taking this role.
“I’ve been told, ‘Quit, or I’ll murder you,'” he said, adding, “The reality is that if I look at Instagram I will see somebody saying, ‘I’m going to come to your house and kill you.’”
He noted, “While I hope I’ll be okay, nobody should have to encounter this for doing their job. Many people put their lives on the line in their work. I’m playing a wizard in “Harry Potter”. And I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t affect me emotionally.”
To note, HBO released the first official teaser trailer for the Harry Potter television series on March 25, 2026.
