New Hermione Granger Actress Noma Dumezweni Is Black and 'Harry Potter' Fans Are Confused

Emma Watson became a household name when she was a kid playing Hogwarts girl genius Hermione Granger, so many just assumed the character had to be white - but as the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child cast is announced, everyone but J.K. Rowling seems confused at actress Noma Dumezweni's ethnicity.

Upon the announcement that the play had cast its most important female role, made famous by Watson, in a different ethnicity that the one portrayed in the films, many fans seemed puzzled at the choice, as Hermione has been consistently depicted as white in the films and other media.

However, according to International Business Times, author Rowling was quick to go on Twitter to defend the choice, saying that she never specified that the character had to have white skin, saying that the canon only said "brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever," never touching upon the color of her skin.

Rowling's clarification, however, hasn't stopped fans from raising an eyebrow at this.

We’re thrilled to confirm Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni & Paul Thornley will play Harry, Hermione & Ron #CursedChild pic.twitter.com/s1rsDbrXMO

— Harry Potter Play (@HPPlayLDN) December 21, 2015

Interestingly enough, Time Magazine reports that, in fact, this isn't the first time fans have wondered what ethnicity was Hermione supposed to be, as numerous bloggers and even one BuzzFeed article have imagined the character as black or mixed-race.

In any case, 45 year-old Dumezweni is an Olivier Award recipient, so she's not only experienced in West End theater but she's obviously pretty good at it, so no doubt she'll have no problem playing the Gryffindor witch!

Besides Dumezweni, the other two main characters of the play will be played by Jamie Parker (in the role of Harry) and Paul Thornley (Ron Weasley), though there haven't been many more announcements in terms of casting.

Though that hasn't made headlines, though the Weasleys are the most iconic redheaded family in recent literature, Thornley isn't actually a ginger!