New Trailer Marks the Beginning of the End for the 'Harry Potter' Movies

Re-Blogged from Yahoo.com

The "Harry Potter" film franchise is going out with a bang. Several bangs, from the looks of it.

The first trailer for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" premiered Monday afternoon, and from all appearances this will be darker and more explosive than any of the previous movies. There's so much action, in fact, it couldn't be contained in one movie. Take a look at the preview now:

After an extended opening showing Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) approaching Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), the trailer blazes through a montage of some of the big action moments in the films: Harry flies over London on Hagrid's motorcycle, runs for his life through the forest, and gets attacked by a giant snake. Harry's friends also get to show their heroic sides, with Hermione (Emma Watson) standing up to a threat with wand drawn, and Ron (Rupert Grint) swinging a sword.

The trailer also gives a look at the epic scope of the movies. It shows the gigantic dragon that guards the vaults of Gringotts Bank. Hogwarts is surrounded by a dome of fiery energy. And the students run away as the school is blasted with explosions. It all leads up to Harry and Voldemort facing off against each other in the courtyard, locked in their climatic battle.

You're not going to get to see that fight, though, for another year. The first part of "The Deathly Hallows" will open in theaters on November 19 of this year, but the second half won't be out until July 15, 2011. That will be nearly 10 years since the first movie hit screens in 2001.

Splitting one massive "Potter" book into two movies isn't a new idea. The filmmakers considered splitting "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" into separate films, but decided instead to trim out many of the novel's subplots and just focus on Harry's story. That wasn't an option for the sprawling final book, so they chose to divide it into halves. Naturally, they did consult with J.K. Rowling first, and she agreed with their decision.

Both parts will be shown in 3D, though they were shot in 2D and will be converted in post-production. Segments of the past two "Potter" films were adapted to 3D, but this is the first time a full movie will undergo the process.

If you think that saying good-bye to Harry Potter will be emotional for you, don't worry, you're not alone. Daniel Radcliffe said in a recent interview that he and his costars were all overwhelmed when they filmed the final shot of the series. He told MTV, "I didn't expect myself to get particularly emotional but I really did." Radcliffe said the last shot he filmed was a simple stunt of him jumping and rolling onto a mat, and when that was finished, "It just was bizarre; really, really strange indeed."

If you want to catch the new trailer for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on the big screen, it will be in front of most prints of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" when that rolls out on Wednesday.