Warner Bros. and the producers of the Harry Potter film franchise have announced that they’ll divide author J.K. Rowling‘s seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, into two movies, according to the LA Times.
The films will be titled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, with the first to be released in November 2010 and the second in May 2011.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix director David Yates, who helmed the sixth film due out this November, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will direct both Deathly Hallows installments, which will be filmed concurrently.
Also, screenwriter Steve Kloves will pen the two-parter, making Phoenix the only Harry Potter film Kloves did not write.
Looks like the filmmakers don’t want to make the same mistake they did with Phoenix, which is 1) obviously not having Kloves write it, and 2) not adapting the lengthy book into two films. While I enjoyed Phoenix, I felt it was missing a lot of content from the book. It didn’t make sense that the longest book in the series — almost 900 pages — would be one of the shorter movies in the franchise.
Funny thing is, remember how concerned everyone was that the child stars of the movies would grow out of their roles and need to be replaced? No one thought they’d look young enough to even pull off the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. HA! They’re getting eight films out of these actors, who began the series when they were around ten years old and now they’re adults.
Anyhow, if you’re like me and you’re wondering where they are going to end the seventh movie, looks the film’s producer David Heyman is wondering the same thing:
As Heyman put it: “The question will be, where do you break it? And how do you make them one but two separate and distinct stories? Do you break it with a moment of suspense or one of resolution? These are the interesting challenges. But each book has presented its challenges.”
Of course, the filmmakers all say the decision to make two films is purely to keep the story intact, NOT for the money. Truthfully, even if it was for the money, I’d be fine with it, because I love the Harry Potter films and say keep ’em comin’!
They really don’t won’t to end this series.
Comment by Jerry — March 13, 2008 @ 7:52 am
I think they should end the first half of the seventh book when dobby dies…just a thought
Comment by Rod — July 7, 2008 @ 4:05 pm