Harry Potter shock: Does JK Rowling REGRET killing off Snape?

The world-famous author took to Twitter today to apologise to fans for the famous plot twist, which left fans shocked when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – and its later two-part movie – was first released.

She tweeted: “OK, here it is. Please don’t start flame wars over it, but this year I’d like to apologise for killing (whispers)… Snape. *runs for cover*.”

The tweet was met with a huge reaction from followers, and has had over 15,000 retweets in just two hours.

Snape – played on-screen by Alan Rickman – remains one of the most popular faces in the entire Potter canon, with his death proving particularly devastating.

He was a very complex character, as well: his loyalties were constantly questioned throughout his life, and it was only revealed after his death just how much of a sacrifice he had made.

Rowling’s confession follows a similar one made last year; again on the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

“Once again, it’s the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts so, as promised, I shall apologise for a death. This year: Remus Lupin,” she wrote on May 2, 2016.

“Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die. I’m sorry. I didn’t enjoy doing it. The only time my editor ever saw me cry was over the fate of Teddy.”

Rickman, who died in 2016, had said that a tiny bit of his fate was revealed to him by Rowling, prior to the release of the Deathly Hallows.

“She gave me one tiny, little, left of field piece of information that helped me think that he was more complicated and that the story was not going to be as straight down the line as everybody thought,” he recalled. 

“If you remember when I did the first film she’d only written three or four books, so nobody knew where it was really going except her.

“And it was important for her that I know something, but she only gave me a tiny piece of information which helped me think it was a more ambiguous route.”

The Harry Potter series now lives on via the Fantastic Beasts movies. The second one is due to start filming later this year, with Jude Law playing a young Dumbledore.