HBO boss Casey Bloys has discussed the “serious security” around its Harry Potter TV series, in the wake of death threats sent to Snape actor Paapa Essiedu.
Comments by Essiedu hit the headlines earlier this week after the actor, who is English of Ghanian descent, acknowledged a wave of toxic and racist abuse sent to him following the announcement of his casting last year. This included death threats, and in particular a message that told him to “Quit, or I’ll murder you.”
Now, Bloys has given his response to the backlash, and highlighted the safety measures in place to protect the project’s cast. Speaking to Variety, the HBO CEO said that the network had unfortunately anticipated a strong reaction from some fans on social media due to the size of the franchise and fans with “a lot of opinions.”
“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 said. “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,” he continued. “So unfortunately, it was something that we thought might happen and we just try to be as careful as we can.”
Last year, Harry Potter film star Jason Isaacs hit out at “rude” and “racist” criticism of Essiedu, who he described as “one of the best actors I’ve ever seen in my life.” Isaacs added: “They will be swallowing their tongues, hopefully — you know, their digital tongues — when they see what [Paapa] does on screen.”
From the start, the Harry Potter TV series has attracted controversy, with Essiedu’s casting acting as a lightning rod for commentary on how the adaptation will change elements from the previous movies. Numerous actors have also been asked to defend their involvement in the project over Harry Potter author JK Rowling’s outspoken views on gender issues. Earlier this year, Dumbledore actor John Lithgow recalled being “uncomfortable and unhappy that people insisted I walk away from the job. I chose not to do that.”
Elsewhere in the same interview, Bloys said HBO was still to cast the series’ key role of Voldemort. This is perhaps not a huge surprise, considering the villain’s extremely brief appearance within the franchise’s first novel (hidden under a turban stuck to the back of someone’s head). Regardless, numerous unverified rumors have suggested several names in the mix for the part, including Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy and Doctor Strange’s Tilda Swinton.
“As a rule, I would say any rumors – don’t [believe them],” Bloys concluded. “I don’t even know who we’re casting.”
HBO’s new Harry Potter TV series is expected to debut in early 2027 with an eight-episode first season. Filming began last summer, with various glimpses spotted by fans including work on fresh scenes not from the prior movies or books. A recent major set leak gave fans a detailed look at the new Diagon Alley.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
