J.K. Rowling: Sorry I killed off Remus Lupin
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Just
enough time has passed for us to stop cringing at the sight of Tom
Felton, who came to be known as the weakling bully Draco Malfoy. Even
while working on the "Potter" franchise, Felton dabbled in other films,
like "The Disappeared" and "Get Him to the Greek." Felton has been busy
since "Potter" wrapped, and he appeared in the World War II movie
"Ghosts of the Pacific" and the TNT cop drama "Murder in the First."
Hide Caption
6 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Bonnie
Wright began playing Ginny Weasley at age 10, and since leaving the
franchise, she has been on a steady diet of dramas. Wright appeared in
"The Philosophers," followed by "Before I Sleep" with Tom Sizemore.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
The brothers who played the elder Weasleys -- George and Fred -- don't have the trademark ginger hair anymore,
but they're still recognizable as the prankster pair. James and Oliver
Phelps are still happy to talk all things "Potter," even as they move on
to other endeavors. James has been active on stage, and Oliver has been
traveling in support of his website, JopWorld.com.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Evanna
Lynch's Luna Lovegood showed up halfway through the "Potter" saga, but
her character was so wonderfully strange she's easily among the most
memorable. And if there's anyone who's eager for the "Harry Potter"
spinoff films, it's Lynch: "Maybe 'Fantastic Beasts' will turn into a
long ting like HP did & I can play Luna as an old lady?" she tweeted. "Even if I'm too old to play Luna, can I go through 10 hours prosthetics to play a crumple-horned-snorkack. Please??"
Hide Caption
9 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Devon
Murray's Seamus Finnigan was an easy character to love, and fans have
missed seeing Murray (and hearing his accent) on the big screen. Murray
has not appeared in movies since the last Potter film but assured a supporter from
his unverified Twitter account in September 2013 that he's "been
offered a lead role in a new movie so could be seeing my mug soon :)"
Hide Caption
10 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Jamie
Waylett's Vincent Crabbe appeared in the first half of the franchise,
and life post-"Potter" hasn't been so easy for the actor. In May 2012 he was sentenced to two years in jail for his participation in the 2011 London riots.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
"Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first film in the eight-part
franchise, was released in 2001. The movie series wrapped 10 years later
with the second part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." With a
highly anticipated movie spinoff, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them," due in theaters in 2016, we check in with some of Hogwarts' most
memorable students.
Hide Caption
1 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
In 2014, Daniel Radcliffe proved on "The Tonight Show" that his talents go far beyond acting; Radcliffe's also a pretty great rapper.
The "Harry Potter" star appeared in 2015's Judd Apatow comedy
"Trainwreck" and has four movies scheduled for 2016 -- including one in
which he plays late GOP strategist Lee Atwater.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Since
portraying sharp witch Hermione in the "Harry Potter" series, Emma
Watson has broken away from the supernatural with roles grounded in the
(mostly) real world. After "My Week With Marilyn," "The Perks of Being A
Wallflower" and "The Bling Ring," she showed her sense of humor in Seth
Rogen's outlandish summer comedy "This Is the End." She announced in
February that she's taking a break from acting.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Rupert
Grint kept it fairly low-key after he ended his 10-year run as one of
Harry Potter's best friends, Ron Weasley. He took on a risky role with
2013's "CGBG"; if you need proof that Grint's all grown up, check out the trailer.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
By the time the "Potter" movies wrapped, Matthew Lewis -- and his character, Neville Longbottom -- had morphed into quite the charming young man. He initially migrated over to TV for a spell with "The Syndicate" and "Bluestone 42."
Hide Caption
5 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Just
enough time has passed for us to stop cringing at the sight of Tom
Felton, who came to be known as the weakling bully Draco Malfoy. Even
while working on the "Potter" franchise, Felton dabbled in other films,
like "The Disappeared" and "Get Him to the Greek." Felton has been busy
since "Potter" wrapped, and he appeared in the World War II movie
"Ghosts of the Pacific" and the TNT cop drama "Murder in the First."
Hide Caption
6 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Bonnie
Wright began playing Ginny Weasley at age 10, and since leaving the
franchise, she has been on a steady diet of dramas. Wright appeared in
"The Philosophers," followed by "Before I Sleep" with Tom Sizemore.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
The brothers who played the elder Weasleys -- George and Fred -- don't have the trademark ginger hair anymore,
but they're still recognizable as the prankster pair. James and Oliver
Phelps are still happy to talk all things "Potter," even as they move on
to other endeavors. James has been active on stage, and Oliver has been
traveling in support of his website, JopWorld.com.
Hide Caption
8 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Evanna
Lynch's Luna Lovegood showed up halfway through the "Potter" saga, but
her character was so wonderfully strange she's easily among the most
memorable. And if there's anyone who's eager for the "Harry Potter"
spinoff films, it's Lynch: "Maybe 'Fantastic Beasts' will turn into a
long ting like HP did & I can play Luna as an old lady?" she tweeted. "Even if I'm too old to play Luna, can I go through 10 hours prosthetics to play a crumple-horned-snorkack. Please??"
Hide Caption
9 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Devon
Murray's Seamus Finnigan was an easy character to love, and fans have
missed seeing Murray (and hearing his accent) on the big screen. Murray
has not appeared in movies since the last Potter film but assured a supporter from
his unverified Twitter account in September 2013 that he's "been
offered a lead role in a new movie so could be seeing my mug soon :)"
Hide Caption
10 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Jamie
Waylett's Vincent Crabbe appeared in the first half of the franchise,
and life post-"Potter" hasn't been so easy for the actor. In May 2012 he was sentenced to two years in jail for his participation in the 2011 London riots.
Hide Caption
11 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
"Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first film in the eight-part
franchise, was released in 2001. The movie series wrapped 10 years later
with the second part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." With a
highly anticipated movie spinoff, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them," due in theaters in 2016, we check in with some of Hogwarts' most
memorable students.
Hide Caption
1 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
In 2014, Daniel Radcliffe proved on "The Tonight Show" that his talents go far beyond acting; Radcliffe's also a pretty great rapper.
The "Harry Potter" star appeared in 2015's Judd Apatow comedy
"Trainwreck" and has four movies scheduled for 2016 -- including one in
which he plays late GOP strategist Lee Atwater.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Since
portraying sharp witch Hermione in the "Harry Potter" series, Emma
Watson has broken away from the supernatural with roles grounded in the
(mostly) real world. After "My Week With Marilyn," "The Perks of Being A
Wallflower" and "The Bling Ring," she showed her sense of humor in Seth
Rogen's outlandish summer comedy "This Is the End." She announced in
February that she's taking a break from acting.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Rupert
Grint kept it fairly low-key after he ended his 10-year run as one of
Harry Potter's best friends, Ron Weasley. He took on a risky role with
2013's "CGBG"; if you need proof that Grint's all grown up, check out the trailer.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
By the time the "Potter" movies wrapped, Matthew Lewis -- and his character, Neville Longbottom -- had morphed into quite the charming young man. He initially migrated over to TV for a spell with "The Syndicate" and "Bluestone 42."
Hide Caption
5 of 11
11 photos: 'Harry Potter': Where are they now?
Just
enough time has passed for us to stop cringing at the sight of Tom
Felton, who came to be known as the weakling bully Draco Malfoy. Even
while working on the "Potter" franchise, Felton dabbled in other films,
like "The Disappeared" and "Get Him to the Greek." Felton has been busy
since "Potter" wrapped, and he appeared in the World War II movie
"Ghosts of the Pacific" and the TNT cop drama "Murder in the First."
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Story highlights
- "I didn't enjoy doing it," Rowling writes of Lupin's death
- It's the third time she's used May anniversary of fictional Battle of Hogwarts to mourn
(CNN)In
what's become an annual tradition for "Harry Potter" author J.K.
Rowling, she took the occasion of the fictional anniversary of the
"Battle of Hogwarts" Monday to mourn the death of a character.
This year, it was Remus Lupin, the werewolf wizard who died fighting the evil Lord Voldemort and his minions.
"Arthur lived, so Lupin had to die," Rowling tweeted, referring to another character, Arthur Weasley, who survived the fight.
"I'm
sorry. I didn't enjoy doing it.The only time my editor ever saw me cry
was over the fate of Teddy," she wrote, referring to Lupin's infant son
with fellow wizard Nymphadora Tonks.
Rowling killed off both in the climactic battle to defeat Voldemort, leaving Teddy orphaned.
Rowling, in Lupin's
character sketch on her website Pottermore, called the werewolf wizard
one of her favorite characters in all of the Potter stories.
"Lupin's
condition of lycanthropy (being a werewolf) was a metaphor for those
illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS," she wrote. "All kinds
of superstitions seem to surround blood-borne conditions, probably due
to taboos surrounding blood itself. The wizarding community is as prone
to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin
gave me a chance to examine those attitudes."
Plenty of fans would seem to agree with Rowling's love for Lupin, who was played in the movies by actor David Thewlis.
But, she told Today
back in 2007, she wanted Lupin and Tonks to die as "an echo of what
happened to Harry just to show the absolute evil of what Voldemort's
doing."
She was referring of course, to Voldemort's murder of Potter's parents.
Rowling
said she'd grown too attached to Weasley to let him die, saying he was
perhaps "the only good father in the whole series."
This is the third year Rowling has used the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts to mourn the deaths of some of her characters.
In 2014, she said she was "having a moment's silence over my keyboard" for the characters who died in her stories.
In 2015, she apologized to fans for the death Fred Weasley -- Potter pal Ron Weasley's brother.
When asked why she chose Weasley's death, she said, "Fred was the worst for me, so I started with him."
While
Rowling isn't saying the deaths were mistakes -- although many have
drawn ire from fans who fell in love with various characters -- she has
acknowledged there are things she would have changed in the stories.
In 2014, she revealed that she should have had Hermione Granger marry Potter instead of Ron Weasley.
"It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility," she told Wonderland magazine.
How would you have rewritten Harry Potter? Let us know in a sentence, please, in the comments.
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