Deathly Hallows For Two Movies

Not sure if this is good or bad news: The final installment of the Harry Potter series is to be split into to movies. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows is the most action-packed in the series, so this decision could be seen as an attempt by the studio to stay true to the books and not cut any vital material due to time constraints.

OR... cynics might suggest that the studio is reluctant to see off their cash-cow, and hence is trying to prolong the inevitable and squeeze out a few more bucks before the series is put to rest. Surely a Hollywood studio wouldn't sacrifice artistic integrity for profits!

Either way, there's probably enough material in the book to fill the extra hour and a half the filmmakers will gain, and still get two meaty adaptations. Maybe the real plus of this news is that grandiose scenes such as the novel's climax will be given the epic screen-time they deserve.

Any ideas from HP fans about where will be the halfway point?

More after the jump...


This is the first of the HP movies to be divided, even though it's not the longest book. Book five, Order of the Phoenix, was longer- but worked well as a single movie. Granted though, Phoenix had subplots that could be easily cut, whereas Deathly Hallows is all encompassing so would suffer more from losing scenes.

Good news (I think) is that directer David Yates returns to handle both flicks. There was a point in the series production where it promised to be a showcase of sorts for auteurs. Once Chris Colombus was out of the way after delivering his effective yet schmaltzy first two chapters, Alfonso Cuarón, directer of the AMAZING Children of Men, stepped in to direct Prisoner of Azkaban in a radically different style. Mike Newell took over for book four, turning in another variation on the style of the movies, and some tantalizing possibilities for other movies were rumored- not least Pan's Labyrinth's Guillermo del Toro. But Yates has obviously impressed studio & audience enough to guarantee his helming books five onwards. Hopefully not trust mispaced, as Order of the Phoenix was pretty damned good.

Half Blood Prince hits or screens in November this year, with Deathly Hallows part one scheduled for the same time 2010, and part two in May 2011.

So don't hold your breath.