Emma Watson officially signs on for final two Harry Potter films

And I couldn’t be more excited! I am a huge Harry Potter fan, of both the books and films, and recent speculation that Emma Watson, who plays Harry’s best friend Hermione Granger, was reluctant to sign on for the final two films had me rather disappointed. There’s no doubt in my mind, or anyone else’s for that matter, that the series would not be complete without all three of its leading stars. Today, however, Warner Brothers officially announced that Emma has followed co-stars Radcliffe and Grint by signing on for the final two films.

She has done a fantastic job portraying the reliable know-it-all, first in 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and has continued to grow into the role ever since. I cannot wait to see her, as well as Daniel Radcliffe as Harry and Rupert Grint as Ronald Weasley, in this summer’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, due out July 13. It is one of the best books in the series thus far, with an incredible plot and edge-of-your-seat climax. While I am really disliking the current trend in which every other movie released seems to exceed the two hour mark, often stretching two-and-a-half hours or more, Order of the Phoenix is one film that I would be glad to spend more than two hours watching. (In an IMAX theater, no doubt.) I’m crossing my fingers that the screenwriters and producers included as much of J.K. Rowling’s captivating details, from what is the longest book in the series, as possible.

Anyways, here’s to Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson sacrificing their childhoods so that we Harry Potter fans have the luxury of enjoying a seven movie series, spanning what will be some ten years of production and promotion, that is consistently starred by the three kids that started it all.