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Harry Potter Leads Take Seven

Mon., Mar. 26, 2007 11:31 AM PDT by Natalie Finn

In what should come as a relief to Potter purists, the original Harry, Ron and Hermione are in it for the long haul.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have signed on to star in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last two films in the seven-part series, according to trade reports.

So, while Harry Potter might be pushing 21 by the time he graduates from Hogwarts and battles Voldemort to the death—or whichever comes first—the multi-billion-dollar franchise will have leading man (and woman) continuity.

The casting coup comes in the face of concerns that the actors' natural maturation process might outpace the filmmaking, as well as reports that Radcliffe, Grint and Watson have grown tired of their star-making roles.

Radcliffe, for instance, recently disrobed on the London stage in a revival of the man-obsessed-with-horse drama Equus, a performance that has won the 17-year-old both critical acclaim and distance from his boy-wizard beginnings.

Grint, 18, starred in the indie film Driving Lessons last year with his Harry Potter mum, Julie Walters.

Watson, as well, had said that she was considering her options and might not be back for two more turns as brainy Hermione Granger. "She's tired of being known as 'that girl from Harry Potter," Grint told reporters recently.

But the lucrative deals that the three actors almost surely received in turn for an additional two-film commitment—as well as the promise that their legacy as part of one of the biggest pop-culture phenomena in recent history is secure—apparently won out in the end.

"Through the years, and in each of the Harry Potter films, we have watched [the three] grow into extraordinary young adults as well as remarkable actors," Jeff Robinov, president of production at Warner Bros. Pictures, said.

"It would be inconceivable to imagine anyone else in the roles with which they have become so identified, so we are thrilled and proud that Daniel, Rupert and Emma have chosen to complete the arc of their characters in the final two films."

And Watson, despite her uncertainty, certainly seems to be looking on the bright side now.

"I could never let Hermione go—she is my hero!" the 16-year-old actor said in a statement. "I love her too much and love what playing her has meant to me."

A refresher course on just how much Radcliffe, Grint and Watson mean to the franchise is scheduled to begin July 13, when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix hits theaters. The big-screen adaptation of the fifth book in J.K. Rowling's mega-selling series, directed by David Yates (The Girl in the Café), should theoretically be the darkest film in the bunch—until the even darker sixth and seventh installments arrive, that is.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is slated for a Thanksgiving 2008 release.

Meanwhile, a record-breaking 12 million copies of the carefully guarded 784-page behemoth that is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are destined to hit stores and wherever else books are sold at the crack of 12:01 a.m. on July 21.

Starting Apr. 17, a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign, featuring the slogan "There Will Soon Be 7," will help alert the five people in the world who don't already know that the finale to the Harry Potter saga is on its way.