For the past few months, things had been a little quiet at the Harry Potter end. To jolt fans out of their reverie, Warner Bros, on Thursday, announced that it would start the production of the fifth Harry Potter film, based on J K Rowling's
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix next week.
The last film,
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, saw the boy wizard survive an attack by Lord Voldermort. This time round, he would learn that the fight against the powers that be is as difficult as that against evil.
Taking up from where
Goblet of Fire left off, the new film will see Potter trying to convince the Ministry of Magic of Voldermort's return. He, however, would fail to do so and would enlist the support of Professor Dumbledore to form a wizard league, called the Order of the Phoenix, to counter the Voldermort's army of Death Eaters.
The Ministry of Magic, which looks down upon groups not approved by it, would plant a teacher Dolores Umbridge to thwart Potter's Defense of the Dark classes. The role of Umbridge would see Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton slip into the unpopular teacher's shoes.
Original actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint will remain protagonists Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger respectively and the character of Cho Chang, played by Katie Leung, has also been retained in the latest flick. Among new faces in the latest film would be Helen McCrory, playing Sirius Black's cousin and Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, Kathryn Hunter, who would play Mrs Figg, and Evanna Lynch, a 14-year-old who plays Potter's friend Luna Lovegood. Lynch was selected for the part from among 15,000 girls who came for an open casting in the United Kingdom. Another new addition to the film is director David Yates, who is directing a Potter film for the first time.
While the
Goblet of Fire introduced a certain level of darkness in Harry Potter's personality, the
Order of Phoenix will take this further, showing Potter's growth as a wizard and as a person. He will also get into his first love relationship and do some introspection about his own feelings.
The principal photography of the
Order of the Phoenix will start on Monday at UK's Leavesden Studios and the film is scheduled for release in 2007.
