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The “Harry Potter” novel, seven in all, may be complete, but thre will be eight films. Producers are expected to announce Thursday that J.K. Rowling’s last “Potter” installment, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” chock full of plot that moved by at breakneck speed, will be split into two movies. The first film is slated for release in November 2010, with part two following in May 2011. The movie version of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be in theaters at the end of this November. The decision has many around the world cheering for all the Harry Potter they can get but also some cynics look at this as a ploy by studio execs to totally cash in with an extra movie.
However Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the franchise told the Times its to serve the story, not the bottom line:
“I think it’s the only way you can do it, without cutting out a huge portion of the book,” Radcliffe said. “There have been compartmentalized subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut — although those cuts were still to the horror of some fans — but the seventh book doesn’t really have any subplots. It’s one driving, pounding story from the word go.”

The two final “Potter” films will be shot concurrently, much like the blockbuster trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings.” J.K. Rowling, who signed off on the idea of a two-part finale, has been a more frequent visitor to the sixth movie’s set than with previous installments now that she is no longer busy trying to finish the “next” “Potter” book.

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