Will There Be a New Hermione in the Final Harry Potter Movies?

Emma Watson, rapidly turning into one of the best reasons to watch the Harry Potter movies, has still not signed up for the last two films. While Rupert Grint (yay!) and Daniel Radcliffe (yawn!) are both eager to finish out the series and continue their acting careers, Watson says she’s still not sure she wants to be an actor. In an interview with Newsweek, Emma Watson admits that education is a priority. And why not? She almost achieved perfection on her national exams.

Watson also goes on to say that while she loves acting, there are many other things she’d like to do as well. The writer of the Newsweek article, Sean Smith, describes Watson as being obviously conflicted when she discusses the prospect of a decision on whether to pursue acting after the Harry Potter series or not.

Frankly, it would be a shame if Watson did not complete the role. While she was unquestionably irritating as Hermione in the first two, she seemed to finally capture the essence of the role in the third one and positively shined in the fourth. Indeed, both she and Rupert Grint have both taken steps toward evolving their characters, while Radcliffe still seems stuck in the same grin-flashing mode of the original entry. It verges on heresy to say so, I realize, but frankly the Harry Potter movies could only improve if it were Radcliffe who was conflicted about pursuing an acting career.