In announcement that surprised no one but the completely uninformed, Warner Brothers announced today that the movie version of the Chazzie-nominated Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be split into two films. Director David Yates, who did the helming duties on Order of the Phoenix and is working Half-Blood Prince currently, will be back to do films 7 and 7.5. Expect Film #7 in time for the holidays, 2010, and Film #7.5 will hit summer 2011.
Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group had this to say: “In concluding the film franchise, we recognized that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is packed with vital plot points that complete the story arcs of all of its beloved characters. That said, we feel that the best way to do the book, and its many fans, justice is to expand the screen adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and release the film in two parts.”
Let me translate this into Muggle-speak for you. Warner Brothers, according to Wikipedia, has brought in nearly $4.5 billion-with-a-b from the films. Scratch that, just the theatrical releases. That doesn’t count the DVD releases, which will continue long into 2017. They’re freaking because the franchise is coming to a close and it makes NBC’s fits over the end of Friends look like nothing. Let’s just hope that we don’t get the equivalent of a Joey spinoff. Coming soon to cinemas: Harry Potter Origins: Neville! Anyway, since they don’t get an eighth book (at least not yet, anyway), they’re going to just chop film seven in twain to get an eighth movie. Makes perfect sense, and since we like all the actors involved, this gives them an extra paycheck. And means more money for Jo Rowling, who already has surpassed the GNP of half of the nations on the planet. Couldn’t have happened to nicer people. Rock.
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