We've not even seen the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet (although we would have if Warner Bros. hadn't have delayed it...), and yet there's already talk about the next and last film in the successful series. If y'all are wondering what is happening with the seventh Harry Potter tale, titled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, then Screen Rant is here to help.

It was announced over a year ago by WB that Deathly Hallows is going to be split into two separate movies because, as franchise producer David Heyman stated back then:

"[The last book] is so rich, the story so dense and there is so much that is resolved that after discussing it with Jo [Rowling], we came to the conclusion that two parts were needed to do it justice."

Now over a year on, courtesy of Empire, we have some new info on the matter. In an interview with Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, along with Heyman, explained how the film is going to be split (sort of...):

"We've played around with a couple of places... and ultimately settled on a place that we think is very exciting, and I think quite bold, in that it's not necessarily where one might expect. You want to give a sense of completion, on one hand, but a sense that there's another piece, more to come. We tried one and then Steve (Kloves, screenwriter) came up with the idea to try it another way and when we tried that, it felt just right."

Radcliffe chimed it in with a clue-like piece of info, for those who have read the book(s), by saying the first part will end on a major cliffhanger of some sort.

When looking ahead to how they were going to deal with the later part of the last book [possible spoilers ahead about the Deathly Hallows book and story], Radcliffe and Heyman noted that it takes place almost 20 years later, and they discussed how they would like that to be portrayed on-screen - Heyman is keen to employ the revolutionary technology used for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but Radcliffe wasn't so keen on that idea:

"I am nervous about that because if it's good I'll be really, really pleased; if it's not good and that's what people are left with, that would be awful. If it's a choice between having me, Rupert [Grint] and Emma [Watson] looking a bit stupid and it being slightly comical or having other actors play us, I would go for other actors every time. So, we'll see."

I look at this in two ways: on the one hand I can see the need to split Deathly Hallows into two parts - Not only going by what this experienced franchise producer says, but also on the word of those who have read and are mega fans of the books. The last book is very heavy and detail-laden (as I expect most, if not all, of them are, but this one even more so), and let's not forget this is the closing out of a long running and very successful franchise, and WB may want to "do it justice," as Heyman said last year.

If there's just so much in there that doing it one film, even if it were to have a longer run-time than the others, will only feel rushed and unsatisfying, then for the sake of making it high quality they simply have to split it into two... if that's what's needed.

However, on the other hand (and I'm sure a lot of fans out there lean more towards this angle) this may just be a sly move on WB's part to get fans to pay $20 instead of $10 to see how the franchise concludes. I'm sure WB knows that they have something very valuable on their hands with the Harry Potter franchise, and this splitting move could be looked at as them just wanting to make as much money as possible before there's no Harry Potter's left to make.

Ultimately, from a purely story-telling point of view, I actually think splitting Deathly Hallows into two parts might be not be too bad of an idea. As I said, if it needs the extra time then by all means it should be given it, and that ultimately would make for a better overall viewing experience in that things don't feel rushed, incomplete and ultimately unsatisfying.

There's also the reason of us getting more movies out of the franchise... that's nothing but a good thing...

The information given in the above interview obviously seems vague to someone who only knows these stories through the movie versions, but it sounds like they're at least giving some serious thought as to how to do it right. Hopefully, anyway...

What are your thoughts on Deathly Hallows being split into two parts? And what about the possibility of using the Benjamin Button technology?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I is currently scheduled for a November 19th, 2010 release and Part 2 is currently scheduled for a July 15th, 2011 release.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is being released on July 15th this year.

Source: Empire