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First ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Character Portraits Released: Harry And His Son Look Grim

By Treva Bowdoin
Published on: 07:15 PST, May 31, 2016

The first cast photos for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play have been released, and the general consensus of Potterheads is that the actors playing the Potter family fit the beloved characters like a dragon-hide glove. However, the actors’ grim expressions in the family photo might be a sign that there are dark days ahead for the Potter clan.

A Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast portrait featuring Jamie Parker as Harry Potter, Poppy Miller as Ginny Potter, and Sam Clemmett as their cursed child, Albus Severus Potter, was posted on the Pottermore website on Tuesday. The stars of the upcoming two-part West End stage play also posed for solo photos that were posted on the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Facebook page, where fans expressed their opinions on the cast. Most comments about the actors were positive.

“I’m so relieved right now, gonna see the play in three weeks and I think they fit perfectly. I was scared I couldn’t see someone else as Harry and Ginny but they’re fitting like an old jacket,” Bernadette Broer wrote.

“Ok, so when I first saw the casting I didn’t think they could have it more wrong, but in costume and make up, how perfect do they look,” Mary Fargin agreed.

In the cast photos, Jamie Parker sports Harry Potter’s signature messy hairstyle. It’s clear that The Boy Who Lived never decided to use any magical remedies to diminish the look of the scar on his forehead, which is the work of makeup artist Carole Hancock. Grown-up Harry is also still wearing round, wire-rimmed spectacles 19 years after leaving Hogwarts.

J.K. Rowling officially passed the Harry Potter torch from Daniel Radcliffe to Jamie Parker by proclaiming that the stage star “simply is Harry now.”

“There’s a kind of relief in watching him, he gets it so right,” Rowling said.

Poppy Miller is wearing a sweater in the official cast photos, so perhaps Mrs. Weasley has passed her love of knitting on to her daughter. Miller says that she loves the look, describing her light blue top as “a really tasteful Pygmy Puff.”

J.K. Rowling revealed that adult Ginny will be a “kind and cool” mom that will make people envious of the Potter children.

Ginny and Harry’s son is wearing wizard robes in his photo, but there’s no crest on them to identify which Hogwarts house Albus Severus Potter gets placed in. According to the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Facebook page, this is because Albus hasn’t been placed yet; he’s dressed up for his first day of school. Actor Sam Clemmett said that he likes to think that his character’s school uniform is a hand-me-down from Albus’ older brother, James.

J.K. Rowling refused to say anything about Albus Potter because she was afraid that talking about the character would spoil the play.

“There’s much I could say about Sam-as-Albus, but we’d be into spoiler territory so quickly I’ll just say we couldn’t have cast better.”

If Harry Potter and his son look a bit too serious in their photos, it might be because they are dealing with something dark and ominous. To make matters worse for Harry, he is now an “overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic” (which is why he’s wearing a suit in the cast portraits) who has two other kids to take care of.

“While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted,” the play synopsis reads.

“As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.”

Many fans are already speculating that Albus will be sorted into the Slytherin House, a prospect that Harry Potter dreaded when he placed the Hogwarts Sorting Hat on his head as a First Year. Slytherin has produced many dark wizards, so this may have something to do with Harry and Albus’ problems.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is directed by John Tiffany and written by Jack Thorne in collaboration with J.K. Rowling. The play’s cast also includes Paul Thornley as Ron Weasley and Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger. As the Inquisitr previously reported, there was a backlash to the latter casting because Dumezweni is black. However, Rowling shut down the haters by pointing out that she never specified that Hermione had white skin in the Harry Potter books.

Pottermore will be releasing more Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast photos this week, so perhaps fans will get to see Paul Thornley and Noma Dumezweni in character as Ron and Hermione tomorrow.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will premiere at London’s Palace Theater on July 30, with previews beginning June 7 at the same venue. According to Entertainment Weekly, fans who can’t check out the play will be able to purchase the script book, which will be released on July 31. This just happens to be Harry Potter’s birthday.

[Image via Pottermore]

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