THE final Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, is to be adapted for the cinema in two parts, according to its distributor Warner Bros.

Producer David Heyman told the Los Angeles Times that the decision was inevitable because it would be impossible to cram 608 pages into a single movie. He did not want to remove any elements from the book.

“There have been compartmentalised subplots in the other books that have made them easier to cut – although those cuts were still to the horror of some fans,” he told the paper. “But the seventh book doesn’t really have any subplots. It’s one driving, pounding story from the word go.”

Heyman was backed by the film’s young star, Daniel Radcliffe, who agreed that splitting JK Rowling’s text into two parts was the only sensible option for the film-makers, especially in light of past criticisms from fans.

There has previously been disappointment that key scenes were chopped from past adaptations in a bid to keep the running times of the films down. But given the anticipation surrounding the final film – and the number of plot strands that require rounding up – dividing the film into two parts allowed the production team to draw things to a close in a more satisfactory fashion.

The decision is sure to delight Harry Potter fans, who now have a further movie to look forward to. It should also ensure an extra box office windfall for Warner Bros, which has so far made $4.5 billion (£2.2 billion) worldwide from the first five films (making it the biggest film franchise in box office history).

The sixth film in the series, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, is due for a world-wide cinematic release on November 21, 2008, and is being directed by David Yates, who will also oversee the final two films.

It will be followed by the first instalment of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows in autumn 2010, with the concluding chapter currently scheduled for summer 2011.

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