One Detail Of The Harry Potter Remake’s Snape Casting Will Make His Story More Tragic Than The Movies

The future of the Harry Potter TV show predominantly lies with the new actors taking on the roles, and the Golden Trio aren’t the only characters that matter. Snape is one of the most complex roles in the entire series, and whoever is tapped to bring him to life will have to grapple with his tragic past. Communicating his double-agent persona is vital. Paapa Essiedu is rumored to be in talks to play Snape in Harry Potter, and though he isn’t confirmed to be playing the role, this does open the door for exciting new facets of the character.

Even if Essiedu doesn’t end up playing Snape, his potential casting means that the producers are eyeing actors in their 30s. Though Alan Rickman was an amazing Snape actor, there were some logistical issues with his portrayal of the character, most notably his age. As the books progressed, it was revealed that Snape was supposed to be the same age as Harry’s parents, but Rickman was clearly much older. Already, it’s clear that HBO’s TV series is making positive changes to make the screen iteration more book-accurate, and making Snape a more reasonable age is a good start.

The Harry Potter Remake’s Snape Casting News Suggests He’ll Be Younger In The Show

Essiedu’s potential casting would change Snape’s characterization from the movies

Essiedu is 34 and could reasonably play a character a few years younger, making him twenty years younger than Rickman was when he first took on the role. How old the original​​​​​ Harry Potter cast was when The Sorcerer’s Stone premiered tied into the overall development of their characters. Since the book series wasn’t finished yet, the issue with casting an actor in middle age as Snape wasn’t apparent. However, canonically, Snape would’ve been in his early thirties when the events of the books started since he was in school at the same time as James and Lily.

This Harry Potter Snape casting would fix a Mauraders age complaint that’s been plaguing the movies since 2001 since the timelines of the books and films don’t quite match up. The actors who played Remus and Sirius were about the right age, which just made Snape stand out more. Due to the casting rumors that have been swirling about the upcoming series, it’s clear that no matter who the actor is that’s chosen for Snape and signs on to the show, they’re going to be markedly younger than Rickman and help make the series more realistic.

Snape’s Book-Accurate Age Will Make His Backstory Even Sadder Than The Movies

While Snape already had a tragic past, his age will only make this more obvious

Snape spent most of his Hogwarts years being bullied by the Marauders, losing Lily to one of his bullies, and being pressured into becoming a Death Eater as an adolescent. In the movies, it’s difficult to remember that Snape wasn’t even out of school when he was manipulated into joining the Death Eaters and watched the love of his life die at the hands of the person he served not long after. James and Lily were in their early twenties when they died, meaning Snape was the same age when he double-crossed Voldemort, which could’ve led to his death.

Taking this risk and losing so much without being able to confide in anyone about his struggles at such a young age makes Snape more sympathetic and tragic. For a long time, in the novels and films, it’s easy to hate Snape, as, from Harry’s perspective, he’s a vindictive man who targets Harry for no reason. While it’s true that Snape didn’t have the right to be so cruel to Harry, no matter how he felt about his father, seeing him as a less mature and more inexperienced person might allow the viewer to feel more empathy for him early on.

The Harry Potter TV Show’s Younger Snape Raises The Stakes Of His Double Agent Role

His long-running game as a double agent for Dumbledore takes a toll on him

It’s one thing to see an adult man understand the risks of such a precarious position and thoughtfully choose to put himself in danger for the greater good. However, Snape came to Dumbledore out of desperation and was too young to understand his situation. Additionally, Snape’s life as a man with divided loyalties plagues him, as he’s forced to kill Dumbledore in the ultimate demonstration of loyalty to Voldemort, even though it’s on Dumbledore’s own instructions. By the time Snape is put in this terrible position, he isn’t even forty and is still grappling with the tragedy of his past.

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The Harry Potter remake being made book-accurate will help demonstrate the moral gray areas that so many characters operate in and prove that the heroes of the story are far from perfect. Snape is a character who struggles to find redemption throughout the narrative, and in the films, it wasn’t quite enough to see that he had secretly been on Dumbledore’s side since before James and Lily were killed. As a young man, Snape will be less cool and in control of himself, lacking the perspective that an older person might bring to the situation.

Fixing Snape’s Age Isn’t The Only Way The Harry Potter Remake Can Improve His Story

There are many ways the show can add depth to his character

One of the most exciting parts of the series is the fact that there will be so much extra time for additional scenes and world-building. In the films, flashbacks, and exposition were often rushed through because there was so much ground to cover, but the show won’t have this problem. The Harry Potter movies didn’t use flashbacks to the Marauders’ and Snape’s past until the last few movies. Of course, Harry doesn’t discover Snape’s connection to his mother, Lily, until he takes his memories at the end of The Deathly Hallows, but that doesn’t mean additional hints can’t be dropped.

Every time Harry interacts with Snape in the movies, it goes disastrously, and the audience only gets to experience Snape’s life through Harry’s eyes. It would be interesting to see if the Harry Potter TV show decides to include some backstory at the beginning of season 1, giving insight and context about the state of the world before Harry defeated Voldemort for the first time. Additionally, seeing Snape’s moments alone and how he tries to balance his anger toward Harry with his knowledge of his importance would shed new light on his character.

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Harry Potter

Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did. Upon the announcement of the Harry Potter TV show, the series received harsh criticism for the involvement of Rowling and for many thinking a reboot was unnecessary.

Seasons

1

Directors

Mark Mylod

Showrunner

Francisca Gardiner