Now that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 has revealed itself to cinemagoers, the natural thing is to now focus our attention on Part 2. According to Vanity Fair, Kelly Macdonald (of HBO’s terrific Boardwalk Empire, which wrapped up its first season last week) is set to play the Ravenclaw house ghost – better known to Potter fans as the Grey Lady – which just shows you how close David Yates and writer Steve Kloves are sticking to the final book. The Grey Lady plays a brief, but pivotal role in the closing chapters of J.K. Rowling’s epic saga, one that I will certainly not divulge here. Intriguingly, Hogwarts has long been absent of ghosts since Alfonso Cuaron’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Moaning Myrtle notwithstanding), largely due to the growing maturity of the stories. It’ll be interesting to see how the Grey Lady (along with those enormous spiders and giants) fits into Yates’ more down-to-earth approach.
Along with Boardwalk, Macdonald has starred in such highly praised films as Choke and Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is set for a July 15, 2011 release and will, unfortunately, be released in 3D.