A short article released by The Scotsman this evening reveals that Deathly Hallows filming will commence later this year in the Scottish Highlands of Lochaber.

You may remember that David Heyman revealed in an interview that filming would begin in February 2009, which obviously conflicts with this new report. It is our thinking that filming in Lochaber will likely just be b-roll scenic shots.

ComingSoon.net received a hot tip early Friday morning, revealing that Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released November 19th, 2010.

The news comes just a little over a month since Warner Brothers announced the final book will be split into two films. No word yet on the exact date for Part 2, but Heyman has previously stated in an interview with the LA Times to look for a May 2011 release.

Thanks, Matt, for the tip!

The Daily Mail reported today that Helen McCrory will reprise her role as Narcissa Malfoy in the final two-part installment of the Harry Potter series.

It was mentioned that after giving up her original role of Bellatrix Lestrange to Helena Bonham Carter due to pregnancy, she will make her debut as Narcissa in Half-Blood Prince and return for Deathly Hallows.

McCrory was quoted as saying, "Just wait for me to be wicked and witchy."

Thanks to SnitchSeeker for the tip!

Thanks to Todd for pointing out that Empire Magazine has a brand new interview with Potter producer David Heyman, who reveals lots of new information regarding Wednesday's announcement:

The extended shooting time means there’ll be nearly two years between the release of Half-Blood Prince and the first part of Deathly Hallows in 2010. Are there any concerns about that?

Actually, we would have been in a very similar place if we’d done one film, because it would have been four and a half hours long. The shoot would not have been considerably shorter, so it would have been on similar lines.

And when do you expect to start shooting Deathly Hallows?

Early next year. Most of 2009 will be filming. We’ll be anticipating shooting in February. We’re all really excited about the possibilities and the challenges of seven. It’s going to be a cracker.

Read the full interview here. See more quotes from Heyman in the original announcement, and screenwriter Steve Kloves' thoughts here. Thanks again, Todd!

Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves today sent an email to the Baltimore Sun, shedding light on his thoughts of the Deathly Hallows split announced yesterday:

"Years ago," he writes, "we briefly — and seriously — considered doing Goblet of Fire as two films. So this concept is not altogether new. As for Deathly Hallows, I intuited — almost from the first moments I began reading it and certainly once I’d finished — that to realize the story in a single film was going to be a tall order. Others in 'the group' felt similarly. So the idea of two films began to get kicked around as early as late summer of 2007. We didn’t take it lightly. But ultimately everyone felt that despite the challenges it would present, it was the most sound creative decision. I’m sure some will think we’re crazy.

Read the full interview here! Thanks to SnitchSeeker for the tip.

UPDATE: As expected, this morning Warner Brothers issued a press released about the split. No new information is revealed.

Story highlights (Digg this story!):
- Part 1 to be released November 2010, Part 2 May 2011.
- JK Rowling was "cool" with the idea, according to Heyman.
- Warner Brothers to make official announcement tomorrow at ShoWest.

It's official! The LA Times has confirmed that Deathly Hallows will be split into two films AND will be directed by OOTP and HBP director David Yates. Read the full article HERE. Quotage from the article:

Producer David Heyman said the decision was made with some anxiety and only after considerable deliberations. The producer joked that "while my wife and Warner Brothers were pleased" to hear that the Potter movie magic will continue into the next decade, he himself fretted that the cynical observers would see the decision as a purely mercenary move.

"I swear to you it was born out of purely creative reasons," Heyman said during an interview in a converted airplane factory outside London that has been home base to all of the "Potter" productions. "Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book. You can remove scenes of Ron playing quidditch from the fifth book, and you can remove Hermione and S.P.E.W. [Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare] and those subplots . . . but with the seventh, that can't be done."

Heyman said he approached Rowling with some trepidation about the strategy but found that she signed off on its logic rather quickly. "I went to Jo and she was cool with it," Heyman said, "and that was quite a relief."

Collectormania 2008 hosted Matt Lewis and his brother yesterday in Manchester, England, where he answered several questions about the Harry Potter films. Snitch Seeker has a small report from Matt Lewis' talk, where one reader says he did confirm previous rumors that Deathly Hallows would be split in two.

All of these leaks and quotes from people inside the Potter film are adding up, and at this point an announcement from WB should be imminent. We'll keep you posted!

A new MTV Movies blog entry comments on yesterday's Deathly Hallows rumors. MTV says that a source at Warner Bros. told them an announcement was coming within the "next week or two," but we've learned that MTV may have not been told this at all.

If true, this falls in line with recent quotes from Potter producers David Heyman and David Barron, who both said an announcement about the DH movie split would come in the "not-too-distant future." We'll let you know as soon as we do!

In a new interview, Jason Isaacs, who portrays Lucius Malfoy, discusses his absence in Half-Blood Prince. At the recent BAFTAs, he told Rotten Tomatoes that it was "a source of great embitterment in the Isaacs household, but he's in Azkaban so what can you do?" However, he has high hopes for the last installment.

"I hope I'm coming back for seven. Dan's going to Broadway to do his play for a long time, so I don't know when or if I'm going to come back. But I'll be even more bitter if I don't get to return for seven!"

You may remember last week we reported Spielberg is one of the candidates being considered for Deathly Hallows.

However, at last night's BAFTA awards, Digital Spy reports Dan Radcliffe told the press these rumors are not true at all:

"I have no idea how that rumour started or where it came from. It's not true. How's that for a definitive answer? It's absolute rubbish that Spielberg is directing the final film. It's not true. There's absolutely no foundation in that at all."

Currently there isn't any word on other directors being considered, but we expect an announcement in the coming months. Thanks to CJ for the tip!

The Daily Telegraph has a new article today focusing on the continuing rumors of the final Potter film being split into two parts. When these rumors started one month ago, all we heard from WB was a big "no decision has been made." Today, we hear from the film's producers:

From David Barron: "We are still discussing it. The announcement will be made hopefully in the not-too-distant future, with regards to the way seven shapes up," Barron tells The Back Room.

The only negative of splitting the book into two films, says Barron, "is that people could possibly perceive it as being one last chance at cashing in. But the real positive, if we were to do that, would be that we wouldn't have quite the battle we always have of 'How do you compress all that book into just over two hours of screen time?'

From David Heyman: "A couple of people have expressed interest, people have gotten a few calls and a few emails, but it's still a year away," Heyman says.

"We won't start filming 'til February next year. So it hasn't really gone bananas yet. We've got thoughts, and I'm sure something will be announced in the not-too-distant future."

We'll continue to update you on this story as we hear more. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the tip!

A few weeks ago, we told you about two Deathly Hallows rumors: It could be split in two, and Spielberg is being considered to direct. The latter item picks up an extra piece of evidence today, after Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley in the Potter films) reportedly told TeleText that Spielberg is a candidate:

The veteran actor told Teletext: "Being in a Spielberg film is a pretty good place to be. My agent had conversations with him, so anything is possible.

"I'm not in the sixth film so I want bigger roles. I asked JK Rowling if she could write Vernon a bigger part and she said 'no', so there you go."

It's important to remember that nothing is confirmed. This should not be taken seriously until more solid sources come forward. Thanks very much to Dark Horizons for passing along the article!

Although he has shown an interest in working on the much anticipated final installment of the Harry Potter film series, it has emerged today that Guillermo Del Toro will not be directing Deathly Hallows since “he’s rather busy”, as put by producer David Heyman. In fact, it seems that he will instead be taking the reigns of The Hobbit and its sequel film.

Since Deathly Hallows is set for release in 2010, and principal photography for The Hobbit begins in 2009, he would not be able to work on both projects.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

In a small interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor who plays Snape in the Potter films reveals he'll begin filming his parts for Half-Blood Prince in early February:

EW: Okay, I think your wranglers are giving me the signal, but I have to say, even before I got to the end of the Harry Potter books —
Rickman: Before you go any further, I never, ever talk about that character. Number one, because it's not fair on kids who haven't read to the end. And for me to say anything — there's a bit of it that just should be left innocent. It's real storytelling, what she's done, and I'm part of that. So I just never talk about it.

EW: When do you go back to shoot Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
Rickman: They're shooting six [now], and I start shooting my part of it beginning of February.

EW: It's a bigger part for you this time.
Rickman: Ahh.... There's important stuff. [Smiles]

Timothy Spall, who played Peter Pettigrew in Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, has said he will reprise that role for the final two films.

"I'm in the next one. And I'm also in the one at the end – I have a very big scene in that. I think they might be shooting two of them back-to-back – hard to know though, what with this writer's strike and all. They're shooting the penultimate one at the moment – which I have a brief appearance in it. I should be doing that soon."

UPDATE: Empire Online is now quoting WB as saying "no decision has been made," in part because no script exists yet. Steve Kloves cannot begin work on the Deathly Hallows script because of the US writer's strike. We'll let you know more once we hear it!

Several visitors have sent in this article from the Daily Mail, which claims crews working on Half-Blood Prince have been told the final film will be split:

A film source said: "There's so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves. There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on Voldemort that needs to be done really well."

What's more, the Daily Mail claims that big name directors such as Steven Spielberg are being considered to direct Deathly Hallows. We'll look into this rumor and let you know what Warner Brothers has to say!

Two new articles have been released that focus on the final two films in the Harry Potter series. The first article from the Winnipeg Sun is a look at actors Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, and how they have grown up without much incident through the first six films. Producer David Heyman, director David Yates and actress Imelda Staunton all praised the trio in the interview, and Heyman credited Chris Columbus with doing an extraordinary job with initially casting them. Radcliffe also addressed just how committed he is to these films:

"So, to me, it's just about letting people know that I'm incredibly serious and passionate about this -- this series of films -- and how much they mean to me. If you've been involved in something for more than seven years now, you want to be able to talk about it articulately and explain why you love it, explain why you loved being involved in it so much."

The second article from the Edmonton Sun addresses the mood of Half-Blood Prince, and how different it will be from Deathly Hallows. Producer David Heyman said that humor in the sixth film will be "slightly warmer," but Radcliffe noted he can't wait to get to the more darker tone of the seventh and final film.

Thanks to Taylor for sending this in!

Director Guillermo Del Toro recently had a chat with MTV about the Potter movies. In this new interview, he mentions that he had previously turned down Prisoner of Azkaban because the films were too "bright and happy and full of light." But, after seeing the previous two adaptations, he has begun to reconsider the offer. "They seem to be getting eerie and darker... If they come back to me, I’ll think about it." Del Toro is known for his work on Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy series.

At a recent lecture in the US, John Williams, former composer of the Harry Potter movie soundtrack, was asked if he was hoping to score the last Harry Potter film. He said with confidence that he thinks he will be back for the last and then added that he hopes he is.

As previously reported, Nicholas Hooper will be scoring Half-Blood Prince.

In a new interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuaron says that he would be "very tempted" to direct Deathly Hallows:

I feel a little bit like I have to try to do the films that are not going to exist without me. On the same token, I would be really tempted because it was really beautiful. I just started reading the last book and something I respect is the care the producers have put in the film franchise. It would have been so easy after the success of the series just to take the cynical approach of knowing that no matter what people are going to see those movies. Actually they've been taking a lot of care from beginning to end, so yeah I would be really tempted.

Read the full interview at this link. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed with the tip!