Korean Star Claudia Kim Stars as Surprise ‘Harry Potter’ Character in ‘Fantastic Beasts 2’
By Ryan General
The latest trailer for the highly anticipated film “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” has been released and it packed a ton of surprises for die-hard Potterheads.
One huge reveal was the appearance of Claudia Kim‘s character who many fans would recognize as an important name in the Harry Potter universe.
The South Korean star is playing Nagini, a “Maledictus” who would become Lord Voldemort’s snake companion. Nagini was also Voldemort’s final and most closely protected Horcrux in the Harry Potter series.
Breaking her silence after the reveal, Kim told Entertainment Weekly that Nagini should not be dismissed merely as a villain in the upcoming film.
“It will be so interesting to see another side of Nagini,” Kim was quoted as saying. “You’ve only seen her as a Horcrux. In this, she’s a wonderful and vulnerable woman who wants to live. She wants to stay a human being and I think that’s a wonderful contrast to the character.”
Kim also revealed that Nagini can transform from human to snake at will, but due to her blood curse, she is aware that she’ll soon become a snake permanently.
In the trailer, Nagini can be seen performing a transformation act for muggles as part of the traveling Circus Arcanus.
Fans have taken to social media to express shock that Nagini was, in fact, formerly human.
When asked by a netizen on how long she’s known about Nagini’s past, author JK Rowling replied on Twitter, “Only about 20 years.”
She further explained that Nagini is a human and a Maledictus, not an Animagus like Sirius Black. Nagini has a blood curse that only affects women, a condition she could not control.
Some netizens also expressed concerns about the film’s decision to cast an Asian woman to play a character that becomes a snake and then becomes a “slave” to Voldemort.
Meanwhile, other fans have expressed their excitement about Nagini’s reveal:
Fantastic Beasts, which stars Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Jude Law, and Ezra Miller, hits theaters November 16.
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