Harry Potter franchise fans were in a treat when the Warner Bros. released the final trailer of the upcoming movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The trailer gave the fans a glimpse of what they can expect from the upcoming film showcasing the life of different wizards. In addition to several jaw-dropping moments, the trailer revealed, for the first time, the human portrayal of Tom Riddle's Nagini.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald's final trailer featured Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller). In addition to these actors, the released trailer also showed young Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), Leta Lestrange (Zoe Kravitz), and Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp).
In the trailer, Credence is shown in a circle and a performer contorts herself as he whispers, "Nagini" to her. Within seconds, the woman transforms herself into a snake, which in later years would become Lord Voldemort's Horcrux. The presence of Nagini in the film is surely going to be enticing, as the character may present an arc as how she went on to become Voldemort's favorite pet. However, the casting of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is facing accusations of racism.
After the trailer was released, several Harry Potter fans suggested that it's problematic to cast an Asian actress in the role of a cursed woman who would eventually become Voldemort's slave. Several fans took to Twitter to share their disdain. Check out few such tweets:
wait so nagini is being played by an asian woman and she like.... becomes voldemort's '''pet'''???? is she.... is she a Fantastic Beast newt must Find???? oh this is bad. this is very very bad
— âœï¸ (@neonacropolis) September 25, 2018
“Nagini was a human woman all along“ really is a bold addition to JK Rowling's list of post-series canon retcons. https://t.co/H3TsQplrwR
— Gavia Baker-Whitelaw (@Hello_Tailor) September 25, 2018
It's okay to love problematic things. I'll be the first to say that the Harry Potter series made me want to write children's books. But let's also talk about the problems. This feels like a problem. https://t.co/fbI29mqytI
— Ellen "Call Me General" Oh (@ElloEllenOh) September 25, 2018
"Let's retroactively turn a woman of color into a literal object owned by a white man inspired by Nazis," one person wrote on Twitter. "There are only two Asian women in Harry Potter franchise, Cho Chang and now NAGINI?" wrote another.
Furthermore, J. K. Rowling has reportedly made several changes to the Harry Potter series, including the revelation that Albus Dumbledore was gay. Rowling also stated in one of her tweets that Nagini is not an Animagus, but a Maledictus.
They're different conditions. Maledictuses are always women, whereas werewolves can be either sex. The Maledictus carries a blood curse from birth, which is passed down from mother to daughter. https://t.co/wYfvPeQFRW
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 25, 2018
After several backlashes surfaced over the casting of Credence Barebone, J. K. Rowling took to Twitter to respond to all the hatred.
@jk_rowling listen Joanne, we get it, you didn't include enough representation when you wrote the books. But suddenly making Nagini into a Korean woman is garbage.
— Jen Moulton (@J_A_Moulton) September 26, 2018
Representation as an afterthought for more woke points is not good representation. https://t.co/UIrR7yiKQD
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald will be released worldwide on November 16, 2018.
