'Keep Your Harry Potter' Bridgerton Star Rules Themselves Out Of HBO Adaptation Over JK Rowling Controversy

Summary

Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan refuses to join the Harry Potter TV series cast due to Rowling’s controversial opinions.
Many actors and audiences are turning away from the upcoming series because of Rowling’s beliefs.
Despite the controversy, the HBO adaptation is expected to perform well due to Harry Potter’s enduring popularity.

HBO recently confirmed the first six actors for the highly anticipated Harry Potter television series cast. John Lithgow, Janet McTeer, Paapa Essiedu, Nick Frost, Luke Thallon, and Paul Whitehouse are all set to be part of the Harry Potter reboot, but countless roles remain to be cast.

There’s a lot of focus right now on who will be playing those parts, particularly Lord Voldemort, but there is also a lot of skepticism surrounding the entire project. This is especially because of Harry Potter creator JK Rowling and the controversies that have been surrounding her personal beliefs in recent years.

Harry Potter Fans Need To Stop Worrying About HBO’s Lord Voldemort Casting For One Reason

HBO’s casting decision surrounding Lord Voldemort for the Harry Potter TV series has people worried for no reason.

One actor who will not be joining the cast is Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, as she has publicly hit out at Rowling. The Harry Potter author celebrated the Supreme Court’s recent gender ruling, which provides the official definition of what a woman is, which is based on biological sex. That means that transgender women aren’t considered to be women in the law, and Rowling celebrated that news online. The Bridgerton star responded to that on social media by sharing an article titled, ‘This is a new low for JK Rowling,’ while she wrote, “Keep your new Harry Potter lads. Wouldn’t touch it with a 10ft pole.”

It’s clear that Coughlan has no interest in being part of the upcoming Harry Potter series, which is a legitimate blow for HBO, as she’s one of the most talented actresses in the business right now. She would certainly have fit into the world of Harry Potter due to her ability to bring humor and heart to any role. However, she’s standing up for her convictions and beliefs, and she’s not the only person who is outraged by Rowling and her opinions.

It isn’t just actors who are being turned off the upcoming Harry Potter series either, as audiences are only losing interest in the Wizarding World that Rowling created due to her beliefs. Many fans boycotted the Hogwarts Legacy video game because of Rowling, and it appears many could showcase the same attitude toward HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter television series. Frost had to turn comments off his personal Instagram post, which was sharing his excitement about playing Rubeus Hagrid, due to how many negative responses it received. People were being critical of the British actor for agreeing to be part of the series due to Rowling’s beliefs, making their displeasure known vocally.

Rowling’s decision to be so vocal with her controversial opinions has certainly made many people think twice about their Harry Potter fandom. At the same time, the HBO adaptation will likely still perform well in viewership due to how popular the franchise has become over the years, with the story going far beyond Rowling at this point. However, she is the one who created it, and that’s something that will have an impact moving forward. It will be interesting to see if even more actors choose to turn against the Harry Potter television show to distance themselves from Rowling as much as possible.

Harry Potter

Showrunner: Francisca Gardiner
Directors: Mark Mylod

John Lithgow

Albus Dumbledore
Janet McTeer

Minerva McGonagall
Paapa Essiedu

Severus Snape