Doesnt that slughorn bloke appear in the 6th book? I cant remember what his physical description was though. I really am more of a Potter fan than i sound - i just dont much like the 6th book.

But Naomi Watts as Narcissa is a great choice. I was expecting someone perhaps a little older. Although actually, how old is Miss Watts? Well let me rephrase: someone who looks a little older. Because i for one could not imagine that stunner in a little black dress like that marrying the minger next to her with the trench coat and lank hair. :P

~I've been watching your world from afar, I've been trying to be where you are, I've been secretly falling apart...~

Looks like Stuart Townshend will be playing Bill Weasley. I think it is probable that Joseph Fiennes will be playing young Tom Riddle, though he could be Fenrir Greyback. But since his brother is playing Voldy already, it would make tremendous sense for him to play the younger version.

New characters to be cast in HBP

Slughorn is quite rotund i believe

also, my memory is that the Half Blood Prince was never seen, you just find out towards the end who he was. young Voldemort and his parents/family are very central to the story though.

....to ALREADY get excited about the next movie! Next year is too far away

Oh and the mere fact that you mentioned Nicole Kidman and showed a picture (God bless you!) makes me swoon - she could make a movie of her just reading the phone book and I would see it in the theater AND buy the dvd

 I just had to point out I KNOW you are reading Deathly Hallows right now, because that particular word (doppelgangers) is in the beginning of the book, and I had to look it up to see what it meant. Then, low and behold, you go and use it here, in another harry potter type article. Nice, I hope you love the seventh book as much as I did. It's by far the best read I've had in years.

I hope that Naomi plays Malfoy's mother, because she does have a motherly tone to her, and yes, she can be a bit pretentious, which is exactly what is needed for the part.

I don't know if I trust "Leaky" yet... I usually find all of my Potter news from mugglenet.com. Emerson, the webmaster there, seems to get more inside info than any other Potter news site. Alright, now that I've officially labelled myself a geek...

I agree, Stuart Townshend could be playing Bill Weasley... but I think he'd probably be better suited for Yaxley, the deatheater.

I also think that Joseph will probably be playing either young Tom Riddle, or maybe even Tom Riddle's father if they choose to include all of the flashbacks etc as J.K. did in the books. Just speculation. Later!

Obviously, others have pointed out that the Naomi Watts casting was inaccurate, but I knew before there were actual articles about it because Naomi Watts is Australian, and they only cast actors from the British Isles (or from the appropriate nationality, such as Irish) for the Harry Potter movies.  It was something Jo Rowling pushed through.  It's something to keep in mind in case other inaccurate casting rumors appear, and they probably will.

 they've done such a good job casting the roles in the movies, I don't think we'll be disappointed.

Peace, Joy and Love