Harry Potter spinoff ‘Fantastic Beasts’ began filming today — without casting a single actor of color.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff movie written by J.K. Rowling, is finally underway.
With an Oscar-winning actor (Eddie Redmayne) in the lead role and Rowling in charge of the story, we were optimistic about this film living up to the Harry Potter legacy. Unfortunately, there’s one serious issue marring this otherwise exciting news: Everyone in the main cast of Fantastic Beasts is white.
The Harry Potter series is all about fighting back against bigotry and discrimination, so this lack of diversity feels worse than your average all-white Hollywood blockbuster. Not only does Fantastic Beasts exclude people of color from lead roles, but we know these characters were created by J.K. Rowling—a role model to a generation of fans across the world.