The new poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has turned up online on the official Facebook page - and you can tell Warner Bros mean business.

Building up for the final showdown between The Boy Who Lived and He Who Shall Not Be Named, it's The Fight What People Have Waited For. Which explains why the Potter studio have tried to echo the poster for the greatest battle in cinema's history.

 

 

In a bold move, there's not even a title on the blood-splattered poster, so it could well be the start of a campaign for Bride Wars 2: Electric Boogaloo. Oh yes, I'm excited.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will bring about total world destruction on Friday 15th July - not at 7:15pm, as previously advertised.

 

So this is probably the best press release my inbox has ever seen. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is no longer in 3D. Dumbledore be praised!

Warner Bros. Pictures has made the decision to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in 2D, in both conventional and IMAX theaters, as we will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window. Despite everyone’s best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey, and to that end, we are releasing our film day-and-date on November 19, 2010, as planned.

After delaying Harry Potter, then 3D-ing it up, they've now decided it takes longer than 6 weeks to get a whole movie dimensionalised. Director David Yates said the decision "underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first". Yes, this is the same studio who released Clash of the Titans.

"These are dark times there is no denying..."

And no-one's about to. Not when Bill Nighy declares it to be the case. And he's not lying either. Dark's a good word for this new trailer. Or epic. Or amazing. Or something else really, really good.

Yes, the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One is online (after yesterday's batch of stills) and boy, is it impressive. Keeping with the spectacular scale and ridiculously over-the-top special effects, the first half of David Yates' conclusion couldn't look like a better climax for JK Rowling's series. It has Harry doing his Binary Sun pose, Ron getting all bearded and angry, and Snape saying "We have taken over the Ministry" in a wonderfully sinister voice.

There's also a shot of Dobby, some swoops over patches of countryside, and a nice spotlight on Hagrid, whose flying motorbike returns for the opening set piece - an escape from the Death Eaters, which will certainly include the novel's use of multiple Harrys as a decoy. Either that or Danny Radcliffe just really enjoys dressing up.

Dragons, lightning, snakes, wands. Screw all this typing. Read on to watch the new trailer at least four times. Then start counting down to Friday 19th November. That's when Deathly Hallows Part One hits UK cinemas. Just in case you'd forgotten or something.

Somewhere deep inside all of us is an unhinged Harry Potter fan screaming to see more of the frankly impressive-looking finale to the long-running series. That small, shrieking, hysterical part of you can now be silenced thanks to these sexy new stills from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which apparated into our inbox.

Owls! Kissing! Sidecars! Rhys Ifans! What's not to like in such a well-rounded package? You even get to see Hermione Granger get blood all over her muggle-born hands, in case Xenophilius Lovegood doesn't do it for you. Part One of the epic climax certainly continues to impress. 

Directed by David Yates, the concluding two-parter is set to become darker than the previous franchise entries (screw you, Chris Columbus). In keeping with that, Warner Bros have also produced a brand new (and quite detailed) synopsis. It runs something like this:

Part 1 begins as Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction—the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart. (That's "tear them apart", in case you missed that rather graphic wording.)

Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort’s Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort… alive. (Get a load of that ellipsis - they almost wrote "dead"! Can you feel the tension?)

Harry’s only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale—the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks. Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became "the Boy Who Lived". No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Death Hallows: Part One hits UK cinemas on Friday 19th November. To help you prepare for this self-proclaimed ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny, check out the wonderful trailer. But first read on for the sexy new stills. Phwoar. Sidecars. And Rhys Ifans.

Right after Adrien Brody got fingered for Mr Fantastic, Fox continue to push their franchise reboot forward with a hunt for a director. First out the gates is David Yates.

The Brit helmer, who just finished off Harry Potter for Warner Bros, has proven experience with fantasy franchises, and knows how to balance effects and character. But Yates is also in competition with two other candidates: Joe Carnahan and James McTeigue.

McTeigue, who's currently working on The Raven, is best known as the Wachowski Brothers' protege who directed V for Vendetta. Carnahan, meanwhile, followed up early thriller Narc with the blockbuster fun of The A-Team.

Both have the balls for some hefty action, especially now Marvel are bringing the 3D to everything, but it's hard not to root for Yates. Especially because he gave the world State of Play. Not that anyone at Fox will have seen the original BBC TV series - they're too busy sorting out rumour from fact. And throwing money at whoever will touch Fantastic Four after that Rise of the Silver Surfer malarkey.

 

You may think this is an ordinary Wednesday in August. You'd be wrong. It's actually 100 days until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) is released - and Emma Watson's counting. Or someone else definitely is, because the actress who plays Hermione Granger announced that to mark the countdown, 100 tickets to the Deathly Hallows World Premiere would be given away.

Where? Why, on Facebook of course! And how? Via a new Harry Potter app (of course). The app, Join the Battle, is another step in the massive worldwide Potter frenzy as fans gear up for the concluding episodes of JK Rowling's phenomenally successful series. 

Directed by Potter stalwart David Yates, Deathly Hallows is set to be the dark, gloomy, thrilling final movie that people dared to hope for, building up to the climactic battle of Hogwarts, which will probably end up taking up most of the film's second part.

Still unsure why there's so much buzz around one boy wizard? Check out the trailer over here (there's even a pretty poster of a building on fire), and readjust your wand settings. Then, if you fancy the chance to win a seat at the premiere, head over to the official Harry Potter UK Facebook Page. Or just watch Potter Puppet Pals for the 100th time - that won't win you the ticket, but it will keep that Potter high going.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) hits cinemas on Friday 19th November. Part 2 will arrive on Friday 15th July 2011. You can start counting down to that one in your own spare time.

It's Daniel Radcliffe's 21st birthday! But instead of giving him a cake, here's something that will clearly make his day far happier: three new featurettes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. No, you can't eat them.

Need to brush up on your Deathly Hallows' story? There's something to sort you right out. Love wizards? Love running? Then you'll really love the close look at Harry, Ron and Hermione on the run in the wild muggle world. And competitive? Boy, is that boy wizard competitive - see ickle Danny Radcliffe pretending he can run really quickly, even faster than a girl. Which he blatantly can't.

Coming right after that spectacular theatrical trailer, HP7 is still shaping up to be a stunning conclusion to the epic franchise. So sit back, light a candle, and celebrate the growing pains of Danny Radcliffe with three rather exciting videos.

It's either that or bake the cake after all. And it's hard to bake a cake in the shape of a horse.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is released on Friday 19th November. Re-watch the trailer over here, or read on for all three new videos.

The first teaser poster for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has arrived in our e-owl's inbox. And I bet you didn't expect it to be like this.

Gleefully showing Hogwarts burning to bits, the Deathly Hallows poster is nothing like the promotional materials used before by Warner Bros. They involved things like Harry's face, or a picture of all the main characters looking serious, or a picture of all the main characters looking seriously at Harry's face. This is striking, dynamic, surprising and, well, awesome.

"It all ends here" screams the image, burning with its urgent message that HP7 (the new trend for the Rowling's mouthful of a title) is coming out in two parts and will be in 3-D. The epic trailer got everyone worked up last week, but this? This is even more exciting. So much so you can forgive them for that ridiculous tagline.

Directed by David Yates once again, the conclusion of the story of The Boy Who Lived is set to be darker and more spectacular than any of the previous Harry Potter movies. Yes, even that really brilliant first one.

It's only 135 days until Deathly Hallows hits UK cinemas. But you were probably already counting anyway...  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Finale Of The Worldwide Phenomenon!"

"The Motion Picture Event Of A Generation!" 

Subtlety isn't the word here. Oh no. Because after all that excitement at the MTV Movie Awards, the wait for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is finally over. Not the wait for the film, mind you - even when Part One's out in November, you'll still have to wait until July next year for Part Two. For now, the wait is over for the trailer, because finally, the much-coveted video went live online today. At 3am.

Directed by David Yates, the dark final chapter to the epic fantasy franchise reaches its mature conclusion with a solid slice of gloom and a few touches of doom. With ickle Danny Radcliffe and Rupert Grint looking more like almost-grown-men than ever before, they join the slightly-taller Emma Watson as J.K. Rowling's wizarding trio come of age.

Horcruxes, Hallows, Tents and Dragons - Deathly Hallows has it all. And in two parts. Will it actually live up to the honestly rather insane amount of hype that precedes it? From the looks of the (admittedly spectacular) trailer, most likely yes. But check out the trailer yourself below, and give us your thoughts.

And, while you're at it, check out the pretty stills below the super-glossy video as well. Just in case you're not drooling enough yet.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a space in want of a Guillermo del Toro is nigh impossible to fill. Still, MGM are casting around for a director big enough to pick up with del Toro left off in Middle Earth and helm The Hobbit (complete with all two years of Guillermo's pre-visualisation work). Is that man Potter director David Yates? The word on the web says yes.

The Wrap have done some digging around with Yates' agents and have confirmed that all these rumours are false. Which naturally means they might well be true. Sure, there's nothing been mentioned by Peter Jackson or old William of Bull himself, and New Line are all quiet on the Hobbit front, but it's a pretty plausible replacement for the still-to-be-greenlit project.

Yates has proven himself strong in the face of fantasy and CGI visuals with Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince and presumably will do the same with Deathly Hallows Parts One and Two - although he'll be tied up with post-production on those for a while yet to come, let alone promotional duties. Still, maybe he's got time: The Hobbit is a long way off (despite Ian McKellen's tweets about it shooting in December), or at least seems that way until there's a green light, a director attached, and some serious money thrown MGM's way.

They could do a lot worse than David Yates as director. After the effort del Toro put into The Hobbit, there wouldn't be too much left to get the project ready for production, and I rather liked Yates' Potter work - particularly Order of the Phoenix. And let's not forget, either, that he also directed the excellent BBC TV drama State of Play...