Cries of Racism Erupt over the Casting of Nagini in Latest ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Installment

The final trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald contained a jaw-dropping character reveal that has some Harry Potter fans fuming. As it turns out, one of the prequel franchise’s “new” characters, played by Claudia Kim, is actually a familiar villain from the original series: Voldemort’s evil snake companion Nagini. Author and screenwriter J.K. Rowling tweeted that she’d been sitting on this secret “for around 20 years.” But social media skeptics say that Nagini’s shocking past as a Korean woman seems highly implausible and possibly racist.

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A brief primer for Muggles with fuzzy memories: Nagini first appeared in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Voldemort’s giant pet snake and de facto attack dog. In later films, we saw the snake attack Harry and kill Severus Snape; we also learned that she was a Horcrux, meaning a hiding place that contained a piece of Voldemort’s soul. Nagini was ultimately beheaded by underdog wizard Neville Longbottom.

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Fans are picking up on a few problems with this change. First, there’s the issue of representation: Nagini is only the second significant Asian character introduced in the Potterverse, and we know that her fate involves being the murdering pet reptile of a wizard who believes those without “pure blood” should not live. This plays into a couple of nasty stereotypes about Asian women often scene in Hollywood films: the sinister, exotic “dragon lady” and the submissive, voiceless sex object.

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Others are questioning the cultural and historical context of Nagini’s being Korean — in light of both prejudice against Asian-Americans in the ’20s and the fact that Nagini is a Sanskrit (read: Indian, not Korean) name.

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