Jk Rowling has defended her decision to cast a Korean actor as Nagini in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them sequel, after the move was criticised by some fans.

The revelation that Nagini – the snake belonging to the evil Voldemort – would be featuring in the upcoming Fantastic Beasts sequel The Crimes of Grindelwald came in a short promotional video released on Wednesday (September 26th). The video showed South Korean actress Claudia Kim transforming from a woman into a snake.

In Rowling’s original ‘Harry Potter’ books, Nagini is a submissive character that is the property of Voldemort, who drinks her milk for strength before he is restored fully to his body.

The Fantastic Beasts film franchise has previously attracted criticism for its largely white cast. While some are delighted with Kim’s role in the sequel, others have aimed some criticism at Rowling over a South Korean actor playing the role of Nagini.

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One follower, who felt Rowling was over-compensating and described it as an “afterthought for more woke points”, said: “Listen Joanne, we get it, you didn’t include enough representation when you wrote the books. But suddenly making Nagini into a Korean woman is garbage.”

JK Rowling JK Rowling with Eddie Redmayne

Undeterred, the 53 year old writer replied: “The Naga are snake-like mythical creatures of Indonesian mythology, hence the name ‘Nagini.’ They are sometimes depicted as winged, sometimes as half-human, half-snake. Indonesia comprises a few hundred ethnic groups, including Javanese, Chinese and Betawi. Have a lovely day.”

Rowling has indicated that there will be five films in the Fantastic Beasts series. Eddie Redmayne is the series’ main star, and the sequel is scheduled to be released by the end of 2018, following the first two years ago.

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