SPELLBINDING Harry Potter director David Yates may have finished filming his latest big-budget blockbuster, but Warner Bros have announced that we’re going to have to wait until next summer to see the finished movie.
David, aged 44, from Grange Park, shot Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince earlier this year, but filmgoers will have to wait until July 2009 to see his eagerly-awaited film released in UK cinemas.
Warner Bros cited their need for a guaranteed box-office smash next summer as the cause of the delay.
David, who honed his magical camera skills as a teenager by making short films in his native St Helens, told the Star last year that his latest offering is more ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ than the fifth instalment - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The ex-St Helens College student, described as ‘a brilliant director’ by Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, joked that the forthcoming release was ‘a bit like American Graffiti ... with wands’!
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the evil Lord Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds.
Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle he knows is fast approaching.
Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts.
Harry finds himself more and more drawn to Ginny, but so is Dean Thomas, and Lavender Brown has decided that Ron is the one for her.
Then there's Hermione simmering with jealousy but determined not to show her feelings.
Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
Originally planned for a UK release on November 21, the film is now set to hit cinema screens on July 17 next year.
As previously reported in the Star, David has also landed the plum job to direct the final instalment – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – which is due to be split into two films, for release in 2010 and 2011.
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