Earlier today, the main cast for the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" play, co-written by J.K. Rowling, was announced. The casting news came as a bit of a shock after it was revealed that black actress Noma Dumezweni will take on the role of Hermione Granger, who was played by white actress Emma Watson in the film series.

"Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified. Rowling loves black Hermione," tweeted Rowling in response to Dumezweni's casting.

Dumezweni, as HNGN previously reported, is an accomplished stage actress (who won an Olivier award for her role in "A Raisin in the Sun") and will make her directorial debut next February.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" will also star Jamie Parker (as Harry Potter) and Paul Thornley (as Ron Weasley). The play has been called "the eighth story" in the "Harry Potter" series. The story takes place 19 years after the events of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and will center on Harry and his littlest child.

According to a synopsis of the play on Pottermore: "It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

"Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" is scheduled to open July 30 at the Palace Theatre in London.

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