Book Lovers Are Excited About New Hermione Casting

Ever since news of the upcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child broke, the entire world has been excited by any news of it we can get. And now, the best and most excellent news yet has come our way: Noma Dumezweni, who is a black actress, has been cast as Hermione. This would be your cue to celebrate — certainly thousands of book fans have been doing just that.

Hermione Granger is one of the most memorable and generally badass characters in the Harry Potter series. She's brilliant, she's opinionated, she fights for what's right no matter what, and she never turns her back on her friends. Although in the films, she's played (and excellently so) by a white actress, Emma Watson, in the books Hermione's race is never specified. Over the years, fans have all had their own ideas about Hermione's racial and ethnic identity, which makes perfect sense. It also makes the new casting that much more excellent.

Growing up, I and millions of other girls my age all wanted to be just like Hermione. And now that she's being portrayed as a black actress in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , it's that much easier for all girls to identify with her. After all, if Hermione can be portrayed by both a white actress and a black actress — in both cases with author J.K. Rowling's full blessing — then it's clear she belongs to all of us. Whatever version — or versions — of Hermione you have in your head are all welcome.

And as you might expect, book fans everywhere are incredibly excited. Check it out:

Of course, some people haven't been so pleased, and there have been a decent number of bigoted comments on Twitter, too. But based on social media, it seems clear that most book fans are thrilled — and have more important things to worry about than haters.

And, of course, anyone who doesn't approve of the new casting should look no further than this tweet from J.K. Rowling.

That's right folks, a black Hermione is officially canon. Book-lovers everywhere, go nuts!