For those of us who have grown up reading (and re-reading, and reading again) the seven books in the series, and watching the previous six films, the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows marks the end of a large chapter of our lives.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows concludes the series, with Harry (along with his best friends Ron and Hermione) searching for the remaining Horcruxes in his quest to rid the wizarding world of the worst dark wizard of all time. The trailer for the film looks dark and sinister, showing just how far the film series has come from the brightly coloured children's movie Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. Perhaps this reflects the fact that the average age of the Harry Potter audience has raised as the films have progressed, due to fans growing up with the movies. This trend was noticeable in 2010's Teen Choice Awards, in which the Harry Potter films did not receive any awards.
Despite this, Harry Potter undeniably still has a strong fan following. The Deathly Hallows trailer has had over 14,700,700 views on You Tube since it was added in June this year. The official Harry Potter Facebook page has over six million followers from all around the globe, and long-running fan site Mugglenet.com continues to have a huge fan following.
This final film was directed by David Yates, who also directed the previous two Harry Potter films: Order of the Phoenix, and Half Blood Prince. Actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson return to play Harry, Ron, and Hermione for the last time. While we have grown up reading about these characters, these actors have grown up actually being these characters. It's hard to imagine how they must feel saying goodbye to a character that has been a part of them for half of their life.
They are lucky to have been allowed to play these characters throughout all the films. The actors, all now in their twenties, could easily have had their characters recast on account of their being too old to play the part. To dedicate ten years of your life to Harry Potter is a big ask, particularly when the actors were so young when they began. In the article "Enchanting Emma Watson" in Marie Claire's November issue, Emma Watson told writer Leslie Bennetts that she was glad she had continued to play Hermione throughout the films: "It felt very satisfying that I had completed Hermione's journey".
As sad as it was for the actors to farewell their characters, it will be just as sad for Harry Potter fans, knowing that they are watching the final chapters in the Harry Potter saga. For now, however, the excitement is building as we wait to see how J.K. Rowling's magical world concludes on the big screen.
Part one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be released in cinemas on November 19 2010 and part two on July 15 2010.
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