Well, it happened. We all knew it was coming, and it took about four seconds to happen.

The upcoming Harry Potter TV series from HBO, set to film this summer and release in 2026, has chosen the avoidable – yet always enticing – woke path.

Color me shocked! Color us all shocked!

This week, Deadline reported what has been rumored for months now: Paapa Essiedu has been cast to portray the famous role of Severus Snape in the upcoming revival.

Snape was originally played by the great Alan Rickman in the original movie series, which spanned a decade and seven films. Rickman died back in 2016.

In the books, penned by the Libs’ favorite author, JK Rowling, Snape was portrayed as “a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes.”

Sallow skin, courtesy of our friends over at Web MD, is a complexion that appears yellowish or pale. Alan Rickman was white. Snape, for decades – maybe two decades at this point – has been portrayed as a white man.

Y’all see where I’m going with this, right?

This was unnecessary, but also predictable

Whoaaaaaaaaa Nellie! We’ve got ourselves a TALKER for this new Harry Potter series! They haven’t even started filming yet – hell, they haven’t even found the next Harry Potter – and the proverbial shit has already hit the fan.

What a choice here by HBO. Again, it’s not surprising, but it was also so avoidable. A quick look at the comment section under that above post, and you’ll quickly see it’s an absolute war zone.

Look, this has nothing, and I mean NOTHING, to do with Paapa Essiedu. I don’t know this guy from Adam. Never heard of him before now. Probably a great actor. I hope he does well.

It’s just weird optics. Let’s just call it as we see it, and it’s odd. And here’s the bigger issue that’s certainly going to come with this …

For those who have read the books/seen the movies, you know that Snape is basically bullied by Harry Potter’s very white dad as a young kid. It’s a huge storyline throughout. That’s why Snape hates Harry initially, but then saves him in the end.

He was in love with his mother, and was bullied by his dad/her future husband in school. Am I a Potter-head, or WHAT?

Anyway, you’re telling me that by casting a black Snape, you’re not going to now inject some unnecessary racial undertones into that storyline? Come on. It’s unavoidable at this point. It’s probably exactly what HBO wants, if we’re being honest.

And even if they don’t want it, they’re gonna get it. It’s inevitable. I promise. I’ve seen this movie before. I know how this ends.

It’s just a huge swing and a miss for HBO, which is actually full of great TV shows. I assume this will be another good one for them. And, by the way, they’ve also made some excellent casting decisions for this reboot.

John Lithgow was recently announced as the new Albus Dumbledore. Frankly, I can’t think of a better person to portray arguably the most important character in the series aside from Harry. That’s a home run.

But this one? Eh. I don’t get it. But, also, I do get it.

It’s the playbook.