Following the announcement of who will be playing Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in HBO’s upcoming reboot of the popular book series, fans are still unhappy about one forgotten detail.
Earlier this week, Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout were revealed as the three children who will be portraying the golden trio in a TV adaptation of JK Rowling’s books.
The youngsters are joining the likes of John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu and Nick Frost, who have already been cast to play Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Hagrid, respectively.
Following the release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, countless spin-offs and royalties have made Rowling one of the richest authors in the world.
But the franchise has not come without controversy, after Rowling’s views on trans rights caused many to boycott the new HBO series.
Yet, following the latest cast announcement, it appears there is now even more contention after fans slammed the show’s makers for overlooking one character’s eye colour.
Taking to social media, a number of fans pointed out how one of Harry Potter’s most mentioned physical traits in the book has been forgotten.
Writing on X, @cozyY29 said: ‘Dominic McLaughlin, who will play Harry Potter. This is perfect, just one thing. They eyes Harry is meant to have green eyes. But in this picture, it looks blue.’
@YosefPiperno added: ‘Black hair. Green eyes. How is this so hard?’
@italkmusicfilm also questioned: ‘Where’s his green eyes? 😳’
How important is Harry Potter’s eye colour?
Our TV reporter Milo Pope shares his thoughts…
Accuracy is everything when it comes to a TV series adapting a famous book series.
Whenever you have a loyal fanbase involved, the attention to detail on the little things is what’s so critical in keeping them on board for later reboots or new adaptations.
Think The Last of Us Part II, countless fans of the original video game have crucified showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for deviating from some character traits and plot points in the latest series.
But, as Craig and Neil have explained, it all comes down to how faithful a new show or adaptation wants to be to the original material.
If the new Harry Potter series wants to update certain elements from the books, Harry’s eye colour certainly won’t be a problem.
But, if everything is created to be an exact replica, it’s certainly understandable for die-hard Harry Potter fans to be frustrated by the little details not being included.
With that being said, Dominic McLaughlin – along with Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout – looks pretty perfect for the role in my mind.
I assume the search for the next Harry was hard enough for the producers who probably had to trawl through countless hours of audition footage to find the nearest match.
After the credits roll for the first episode of this new reboot, I’m not sure anybody will be too focused on a character’s eye colour.
The heavy criticism stems from the fact that Harry’s green eyes are a key link to his mother, Lily Potter.
These sorts of details are especially important in scenes when Snape admits he is hard on Harry because his eyes remind the professor of his former love.
@JohnXADX added on X: ‘Far from being precious about the books, one thing I hope is that Harry gets his green eyes back.’
The same issue occurred when Daniel Radcliffe, who had blue eyes, played Harry in the original films.
According to a producer, Harry tried wearing green contact lenses when the first film was being shot, but had an allergic reaction to them and had to stop.
Despite the controversy, Rowling wrote on X after the news of the castings broke: ‘All three are wonderful. I couldn’t be happier.’
Discussing the new cast, executive producers Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod said of the casting: ‘After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
‘The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen.
‘We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It’s been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there.’
The Harry Potter TV show will stream exclusively on Max in 2026.
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