Harry Potter HBO TV Series: First Look At Paapa Essiedu As Snape

The new teaser trailer for the "Harry Potter" TV series, officially titled "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," just hit the Internet, and it gave us our first look at Paapa Essiedu's Potions master and anti-hero Severus Snape.

Essiedu, whom you might recognize from projects like "Black Mirror" and "I May Destroy You," is set to play Snape in the reboot series, which has recast its entire roster of witches and wizards for a new generation. We only get the briefest glimpse of Essiedu in the trailer as he casts a spell in a darkened hallway at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but anyone who's read the books or seen the original film franchise knows that Snape is an enormous character in the narrative. So why did the teaser hold back on showing him more freely?

My best guess is that, because Snape is such a vital character, they want to keep him largely under wraps for the time being. (HBO did subsequently release the image above of Snape standing in the snowy woods.) Unfortunately, though, Essiedu recently opened up about some challenges he's faced portraying the character.

When news broke that Paapa Essiedu would play Severus Snape in the "Harry Potter" TV show — taking over from the late, great Alan Rickman, who originated the role in the film franchise and passed away in 2016 — some fans were excited that an actor of Essiedu's caliber was taking the role. Other people (namely, trolls) had some deeply uncharitable takes on Essiedu's casting. He revealed that he's been openly threatened by some fans, which is deeply unacceptable. Essiedu should not be tormented by angry strangers simply because he took a role in a popular franchise.

As we prepare to watch the "Harry Potter" TV show when it airs around Christmas 2026, though, let's be realistic: The TV show is mired in controversy. Not only is original series author Joanne "J.K." Rowling under near-constant and frankly understandable fire for her bigoted comments about the transgender community, but HBO head honcho Casey Bloys recently revealed that the show won't air annually, raising questions about how it'll handle its younger cast members as they age. As far as Snape goes, I'll say this: I love Essiedu and think he'll turn in a great performance, but there are aspects of Snape's character — say, for example, the fact that Harry doesn't innately trust him but can't figure out precisely why — that will make his casting just slightly tricky. Hopefully, though, we'll see more footage of Essiedu's performance as the series prepares to drop this Christmas.