J.K. Rowling's eighth installment of the "Harry Potter" series is coming in the form of a two-part play, set to premiere in 2016. The story focuses on an adult Harry and his youngest son, Albus. In an exclusive Daily Mail announcement, the actors playing Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been revealed.
Harry Potter will be played by Jamie Parker, a 36-year-old currently performing in a production of "Guys & Dolls" at the Savoy Theatre in London.
The adult version of Ron Weasley will be played by Paul Thornley. According to the Daily Mail, Thornley will likely dye his hair to the iconic Weasley-red.
And Noma Dumezweni, winner of an Olivier award for her role in "A Raisin in the Sun," has been cast as Hermione Granger, who is now married to Ron in the series.
Casting Hermoine as a black woman is a first for the series. The play's director, John Tiffany told the the Daily Mail "...he had simply cast the best possible actors, noting that they ‘will be an incredible and estimable triumvirate’."
A fan theory that Hermoine was black, due to her lack of specified race and notorious "bushy" hair, has been in circulation for some time. According to the Daily Mail, "producer Friedman said the casting was a collective decision involving Rowling, Tiffany, Thorne, Callender and herself."
When asked by people on Twitter for her thoughts on the casting, J.K. Rowling replied enthusiastically.
—J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2015
—alice (@alwaysdragxns) December 20, 2015
