Now that the eighth and final Harry Potter film has opened, the franchise’s star, Daniel Radcliffe, is free and clear to fully immerse himself in other film projects in an effort to put the boy wizard behind him. Up first will be James Watkins’ The Woman In Black, an adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel about a young lawyer (Radcliffe) who encounters the vengeful spirit of a scorned woman. CBS Films, which will distribute the film on Feb. 3, 2012, today unveiled a first-look photo of Radcliffe in character. We have it below and click on it to see the image in high Res:



Truthfully, this looks like it could be a still from any of the last four Harry Potter films. Slap a pair of glasses on Radcliffe, digitally add the trademark lightning-bolt scar, and the actor’s character could be staring down Lord Voldemort instead of a spooky ghost. Then again, we spent the better part of the last decade watching Radcliffe cast spells in his recognizable wizard robes, so maybe it's us who needs a little distance from J.K. Rowling’s masterful literary series.

If any young actor was poised to break out of the Potter universe, it’s Racliffe, whose acting chops sharpened significantly over the course of the eight-film series. In all honesty, I’m excited to see what he can do outside of the wizarding world, and the teaser for Woman in Black looks promising. We’ll reserve full judgment until we’re able to see a full trailer, which should become available in the next few weeks.