Actress Emma Watson, 18, is set to star in the period romance “Napoleon and Betsy,” replacing Scarlett Johansson, 23, who was deemed too old for the role after it was rewritten toward a more youthful personna.
Watson, will play Betsy Balcombe, a young, impetuous noblewoman trapped on the isolated British island of St. Helena who falls in love with Napoleon, who has been exiled there.
Johansson, is still staying involved in the project as a producer for the Indie film from writer-director Benjamin Ross.
Watson is known for her role as Hermione Granger in Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter” films, and is completing filming on the sixth installment, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” She just had her 18th birthday, on April 16th, gaining access to her huge $20 million fortune built on the Potter films.
With filming of the last chapter, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” scheduled to commence in early 2009, Watson hopes to shoot “Napoleon and Betsy” in the fall.
Emma Watson Scarlett Johansson