The latest trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald has dropped, packed with teasers about the Harry Potter universe we know and love. But one particular reveal has had a mixed response—the film will feature an origin story about Nagini, Voldermort's beloved snake and final horcrux.
In the pre-Harry Potter era, Nagini was in fact a human woman, played by Claudia Kim.
The trailer, which reveals parts of Nagini's human past (it looks like she was a circus performer who can transform into a snake), has received some mixed responses. Some people on Twitter are concerned that while the casting of is a step for representation, it's telling that Nagini eventually becomes an animal and becomes Voldermort's pet.
As YA author Ellen Oh wrote, "I feel this is the problem when white people want to do diversity and don't actually ask POC how to do so," adding that she thinks the casting is racist.
And Oh wasn't the only one to question the casting decision, with concerns that the film will promote stereotypical tropes about Asian women, from the submissive pet to exotic foreigner.
Oh's criticism had some Harry Potter fans on the defensive, however as she pointed out, "Interesting to see such blind devotion to a flawed series. Nothing is perfect and yet I still love Harry Potter & will always love it. But I see its flaws. Just like I see the flaws in my own series."
It's just the latest controversy for this upcoming film, which has been accused of avoiding any recognition that and the casting of Johnny Depp as Grindelwald, despite .
Problematic or not, Harry Potter devotees will undoubtedly be heading to the cinema to see for themselves when it's released in November.
Watch the trailer here:
