After the final trailer revealing that Nagini appears in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, some fans spoke up against Claudia Kim’s casting, questioning the value of a South-Korean woman portraying a character that, later, becomes Voldemort’s pet snake.
Twitter user Jen Moulton criticised the lack of representation in Harry Potter and said that “suddenly making Nagini into a Korean woman is garbage. Representation as an afterthought for more woke points is not good representation”. Then, screenwriter J.K. Rowling answered: “The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name ‘Nagini’. They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake”.
The author continued, mentioning the ethnic diversity that allows Claudia Kim’s casting. “Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi”, she wrote.
J.K. Rowling also used her Twitter account to reveal that Maledictuses, differently form Animagi, are creatures that, in the course of the years, permanently transform into an animal. Always women, they carry a bloody curse since birth, passed down from mother to daughter.
Written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald premieres on November 16th with Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Jude Law and Johnny Depp as the main characters.
Read more:
- Get to know 5 new creatures from Fantastic Beasts
- Why is the film set in Paris?
- Actor changed J.K Rowling’s plans for Theseus Scamander
Translated by Caroline Dorigon.
Edited by Beatriz Franco.
