The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Emma Watson has been cast in the period drama Napoleon and Betsy, in which she will play Betsy Balcombe, a young English girl who has become French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's object of affection during the end of his life on the island of St. Helena. The role was originally given to actress Scarlett Johansson (who is still producing the film), but she had to step down for a younger actress to play the character.

As Emma begins work for the Deathly Hallows films February 2009, the article states that she hopes to film Napoleon and Betsy this fall.