Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Harry Potter fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for the final film installment of the book series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Fortunately they’ve just gotten a taste of what is to come with the release of the movie trailer on April 27, which features a number of tantalizing glimpses of the climactic final battle between Harry and his longtime nemesis, evil Lord Voldemort.

The film will be the first in the series to be shown in 3D – though rumor has it all the movies will be re-released in 3D at some point – and it is currently scheduled for release on July 15. The latest film takes up where Part 1 left off. With Voldemort having broken into Dumbledore’s tomb and stolen the Elder Wand, Part 2 will begin with Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione planning to break into Gringotts Bank to recover another horcrux, Helga Hufflepuff’s cup.

The end of the Harry Potter series will be bittersweet for fans and for the actors as well. Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter in the films, told Katie Couric in an interview last month that he “wept like a child” when filming ended. Emma Watson, who plays Hermione Granger, said the movies had been an “emotional journey” for her, and when it was over it felt like someone “dying.” Even so, both are moving on with their careers. Radcliffe is currently starring in a Broadway production of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and Watson is taking a semester off from her studies at Brown University not because, as has been widely reported, she was bullied at school, but because she wants to take courses elsewhere that are not offered at Brown.

Interestingly, a number of websites have recently speculated on how the new movie’s box office may benefit from the recent demise of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of the US military. As Gawker put it, “Why? Well, because there’s the whole epic story of an evil villain and his network of loyal terrorists and of course the [SPOILER ALERT, BUT NOT REALLY, I MEAN COME ON GUYS] inevitable vanquishing of said villain.” It’s a thought-provoking parallel that may or may not end up increasing the movie’s popularity, but the comparison certainly can’t hurt. Not that the final movie will need any help. It promises to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the summer.