When fans of Harry Potter learned that the final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was going to be split into two separate movies, there was quite a bit of confusion. Though it’s a more commonplace practice now (The Hunger Games franchise and The Twilight Saga also split their final books into two movies) it was pretty unorthodox at the time. And while some fans were pleased that they’d get to spend more time with their favorite characters before the final farewell, some didn’t understand the point.
Funnily enough, Emma Watson was initially among those who weren’t pleased that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book was being split into two movies. Watson, of course, portrayed Hermione Granger in all eight films. Cast in the role when she was only nine years old, Watson spent the better part of a decade promoting and shooting the films. Though she loved playing Hermione, the intense schedule and scrutiny that the films required were incredibly taxing for the actor.
Emma Watson wasn’t initially excited about the final ‘Harry Potter’ book being split into two movies
Originally, Watson only signed on for seven Harry Potter films. So, when she learned there would be an eighth, she was a little taken aback. In an interview with Collider, the Bling Ring actor admitted that she wasn’t initially excited about an additional film. She confessed that she was concerned that the last book was being split into two movies for the wrong reasons.
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“At first, I’ll be honest, at first I was like ‘Oh my goodness’ cause we were doing [movie] 6 at the time, I was like ‘Oh my God three more movies’ I was just overwhelmed, I was like wow that is a lot,” Watson admitted about learning that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows would be getting two parts. “I was like, ‘Is this a money-spinner?’ You know I was very cynical and dubious about it. I’ll be honest I was not immediately impressed.”
Why Watson eventually changed her mind about the ‘Deathly Hallows’
Fortunately, for fans of the film franchise, Watson eventually came around to the idea of an additional Harry Potter movie. After speaking with David Yates, who directed the final three films, the actor quickly realized that the reasoning for splitting the final book into two movies was completely sound.
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“But, then I thought about it and I talked about it with David, the producers, and they said ‘Look, there’s no way we can fit everything into one movie. It’ll be too much. It won’t be a good movie, it won’t be true to the book. We’re not even sure we could call it Deathly Hallows cause we don’t even know if we can fit that storyline in cause we’re trying to focus so much on getting the Horcruxes and killing them. We’d have to call it something different, it would just be crazy,’” the Harry Potter alum recalled of the conversation. “And I was like ‘Oh, OK.’”
‘Harry Potter’ fans are glad that there’s an additional movie in the film franchise
Continuing on, Watson revealed that once she understood, she was all for two Deathly Hallows movies. “As soon as I saw the logic behind it I realized that it was absolutely the way we had to do it,” Watson revealed. “So yeah, it made total sense and I was totally behind it. Certainly, at first, I had my reservations.” It’s understandable that Watson was skeptical at first. However, we’re sure that Harry Potter fans are grateful that she had a change of heart.
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