Summary

Fans are skeptical of HBO's Harry Potter reboot, expressing doubts about the new cast and costumes.
Comments on Reddit suggest disappointment with the new Hagrid's look, likening it to a cosplay.
Some fans argue that this Harry Potter may not be for them anymore, still attached to the original versions.

HBO's Harry Potter reboot is at once highly anticipated and incredibly divisive. While there seems to be some excitement to see how the story of a boy wizard battling the forces of evil can be retold, there is also a sense among fans that this didn't need to happen. A couple of first looks from the show have already proven that the Harry Potter fandom is skeptical of this project.

The latest reveal of a cast member from HBO's Harry Potter doesn't seem to be casting a spell on fans. The first look at Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter appeared to draw a fairly positive reaction, but fans who have now gotten to see Nick Frost in wardrobe as the new Hagrid are expressing more negative feelings on Reddit.

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Posts

By Aya Tsintziras

The first look at Frost as Hagrid was posted to the official Harry Potter subreddit on July 15th and has already garnered over 1600 comments as of writing. Currently, the top comments are more skeptical than outright aggressive, but even they seem to be questioning whether the new Hagrid has the right look or not. "This is so weird, and I don't even mean it in a negative hater way. It's just so weird seeing other people playing these characters, like it was so weird seeing another kid as Harry that wasn't Daniel Radcliffe," wrote Reddit user cowpool20. That might be a fair point, considering there has only ever been one on-screen iteration of Harry Potter. Multiple comments criticized the shape and messiness of Hagrid's beard, while user Uncle_Waluigi05 said, "He looks so young for a hagrid."

A few other comments expressed disappointment with the fact that the new look was too similar to the movies. "Just like with Harry, the costuming looks almost like a carbon copy from the movie? Really surprised by that, I assumed they'd rather do their own thing," wrote u/laikocta. Another user, Herdnerfer, drew a more direct comparison to Hagrid's original actor, writing, "Wish they would’ve changed the style a bit, it just looks like a guy doing a Robbie Coltrane Hagrid cosplay." Further down, the comments start to get a little bit meaner, with fans really expressing their distaste for this particular look. "This looks so unironically horrible wtf," wrote u/Daimondz. "He looks embarrassed. As he should be," u/CryptographerOther87 commented. Several other comments highlighted how they thought this looked more like a cosplay than actual wardrobe for a major production. A couple of other Reddit users were more blunt in their evaluation of Nick Frost's appearance, labeling it "Temu Hagrid."

There were always going to be comparisons between the new Harry Potter cast and the original, but it really seems like fans are not entirely sold on this version. A couple of Reddit users made the case that this Harry Potter may not be for them anymore, and that the original versions were just a part of their long-gone childhood. Regardless, WBD is taking a big swing with this new Harry Potter considering the final movie starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the original golden trio came out in 2011. By the time this new version airs, that will be more than 15 years ago, but that original series of movies was so indelible that it will be hard to avoid being graded on a curve.

Along with Nick Frost and Dominic McLaughlin, the new HBO Harry Potter series is also set to star Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, Alastair Stout as Ron Weasley, John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore (the series' first American actor), Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall, and Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape.