Emma Watson To Star In ‘Napoleon and Betsy’

Emma Watson has lined up her first big movie role outside the Harry Potter series. She’s taking over the role previously inhabited by Scarlett Johansson in Napoleon and Betsy.Watson will play Betsy Balcombe, a spunky young noblewoman who falls for famed military midget Napoleon while confined to the small British Isle of St Helena, where the latter is exiled. Johansson reportedly stepped down from the part because it was written as too young for her, although she’ll still produce the film, which starts shooting in the autumn. Sounds like a good move for Watson and it’s rather an impressive stamp of approval that she’s in a position to take roles offered to someone of Johansson’s level. A good performance in this could set her off to a good start once the Harry Potters are all done.