Over the past ten years or so, we’ve basically watched the stars of the Harry Potter franchise grow up. From children to teens to young adults, we’ve watched, like a billion distant relatives who only see family once a year or less.

One of the more oft-wondered aspects of this was whether these kids would be cursed to live out their days as Harry Potter typecasts, or if they had the talents and youth to move on to many other films, and construct impressive careers. They’ve already made more money than most would have a clue what to do with, so now it’s really all about legacy.

The three main stars have all set themselves up nicely by doing smaller films and theatrical productions in between Potter films, but with the mega franchise’s filming all wrapped up, it’s time to set their future in motion. This begins with the announcement that Daniel Radcliffe has signed on to star in a new remake of the World War I classic, All Quiet on the Western Front.

The movie, which was released in 1930 and went on to win two Oscars including Best Picture, is adapted from the book written by Erich Maria Remarque. The film was directed by Lewis Milestone and is a study of the trials of war, following a group of German schoolboys who are talked into enlisting in the military to fight evil enemy forces, but quickly realize it’s not at all what they expected. What they see and experience changes them and their views on war forever.

In the remake, Radcliffe will play the Paul Bäumer character, played by Lew Ayres in the ’30 version. The script is written by Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson, who are producing the title through their Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment.

Stokell had this to say about the signing of Radcliffe:

All Quiet on the Western Front is an all-time classic, but one you don’t hear spoken of often. Because of this, a well-made remake could be interesting to see, so long as they stay true to the epic wartime drama style and don’t try and incorporate another genre into it.

The movie isn’t even scheduled to begin production until the spring of 2012, allowing Radcliffe to finish his time performing in the Broadway production of How to Succeed Without Really Trying, which ends in 2011.

That’s a very long wait for a production to begin and much could change in that time; but for now, this is the first big casting. What do you guys think of Daniel Radcliffe’s first big post-Harry Potter role selection?

[Source: Boffo! via Collider]