Emma Watson Speaks Out About The New Hermione

The casting of a black woman as Hermione Granger in the upcoming Harry Potter sequel play has met with a ton of support from both fans and most of those involved with the films — now including the actor who played Hermione herself. Speaking out in support of Noma Dumezweni starring as Hermione in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Emma Watson tweeted her approval of the decision on Jan. 2, writing, "Can't wait to see Noma Dumezweni as Hermione on stage this year. #harrypotterandthecursedchild #2016" with a lot of hearts in between. Watson, who played Hermione Granger in the eight Warner Bros. Harry Potter films, had remained silent on the casting decision — which was announced on Dec. 21 — until now.

The other person who has been most vocal about the decision to cast a black woman as Hermione Granger is Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling herself. When the news broke, some Twitter users wondered whether Rowling would approve of the choice. Rowling, an active Twitter user, expressed her support by answering their questions with the following tweet: "Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione." Her answer fit in with speculations and hopes that Hermione could be a woman of color, since Rowling's description of Hermione in the book was ambiguous.

In addition to Watson, most of the actors from the movies have been very supportive of Dumezweni's casting and the upcoming play:

Evanna Lynch

The actress who portrayed Luna Lovegood pulled through with support for the new cast and a description of her own casting experience.

Katie Leung

While the actress who played Cho Chang did not tweet explicitly about the casting, she retweeted a lot of supportive comments, like the one above.

Matthew Lewis

The actor, who has grown up quite a bit since portraying Neville Longbottom, gave a great response to someone who claimed the casting choice lacked continuity.

Benedict Clarke

The actor who played a young Severus Snape in the second Deathly Hallows movie had some harsh (and badass) words for those who complained about the casting.

Chris Rankin

In a not very Percy Weasley-like gesture, Rankin expressed his support for the new Harry Potter cast.

Jon Campling

Campling, who played a Death Eater in the movies and has a very active Twitter presence, retweeted Rowling and similar supportive news, like the above tweet.

Sean Biggerstaff

The actor who portrayed Oliver Wood replied to one bigoted comment with a valid question.

Jason Isaacs

Lucius Malfoy went against character and made a joke about Rowling alienating an audience she certainly doesn't want.

More proof that these movies had the best cast ever? Pretty much.