Deadline has reported that J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince)has come under fire in recent years for her anti-trans views. Rowling has been described as a TERF, a trans exclusionary radical feminist, someone who holds the belief that biological sex is fixed from birth. Some, even from the Harry Potter family, namely Christopher Columbus, the director of the first two movies, not the explorer, have publicly denounced the author’s positions on trans rights. Rowling is a vocal supporter of the UK Supreme Court’s decision to prohibit trans women from legally defining themselves as women. Paapa Assideu (I May Destroy You, Men), who will play Professor Snape in the upcoming series, signed a letter prompting the UK government to act on protecting trans rights.
According to Deadline, John Lithgow (How I Met Your Mother, Dexter) has recently been cast in the upcoming Harry Potter television series as Dumbledore. He recently stated that Rowling’s views did not dissuade him, but he may be experiencing some pushback from former costars.
Non-Binary actor Aud Mason-Hyde (52 Tuesdays, Right Here) played opposite Lithgow as his grandchild in the movie Jimpa. Hyde spoke to Lithgow’s character, “He is such an incredibly talented actor, but also such a beautiful human to work with, and that was my experience with John. “I never felt invalidated or questioned or doubted in my identity or in my transness by him. I consistently felt that he was a very loving and a very guiding co-star,”, via Deadline.
They went on to address the casting, “And so there’s an element of this that feels vaguely hurtful. But also I think that he’s making this decision after we had made the film and after we had premiered the film, can’t take away from what we had and the time that we spent together and the beautiful work that he does in this movie and actually how incredibly authentically he played the role,” via Deadline.
According to Deadline, they continued. “It was definitely a difficult moment in time, “I don’t think it’s worth speaking to John’s reasoning by any means, but I do also think that it’s a strange decision, for sure. And also I found it disconcerting, maybe, is the right word.” Hyde has described Lithgow as “in some capacity a mentor”. The Harry Potter series.
Deadline has reported that the upcoming Harry Potter will be showrun by Francesca Gardiner (His Dark Materials, Succession). Marky Mylod (The Menu, Succession) will also act as executive producer and direct several episodes. HBO produces the series in tandem with Warner Brothers and Brontë Film.