Prepare to get goosebumps – Warner Bros. has just unveiled the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. After being teased with snippets of footage and a dramatic teaser poster, fans can now get their first good look at the action-packed conclusion to the Harry Potter saga.
Producers David Barron and David Heyman spoke earlier this month about their decision to split the seventh and final Harry Potter novel into two films. They revealed that there were several plot threads and tangents that they may have been forced to gloss over had they attempted to cram everything into one movie. As a result, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 was a more introspective and somber chapter that laid the groundwork for the explosive finale.
And explosive is certainly the right word for this trailer. There are moments from the book I couldn’t wait to see realized on screen and there is quite a bit of jaw-dropping imagery on display here. There’s also a weight and a gravity to these proceedings that wouldn’t exist without the momentum of the previous films. Audiences have been following these characters on film for the better part of a decade and there’s something satisfying and bittersweet about watching them reach the end of their journey.
So here it is – the first trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2:
See? Goosebumps. The voice over from Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is suitably unnerving and does an incredible job of underscoring the devastation we’re witnessing. As far as I’m concerned, this trailer accomplishes exactly what it needed to – it sends the message that all bets are off and that the stakes have never been higher.
I know we label everything as “epic” these days, but is there a better term to describe some of these set-pieces? I know it’s only a couple minutes of footage, but it looks to me like the film is sticking fairly closely to the second half of the book – and that fans anxious to see how the filmmakers handled the Battle of Hogwarts won’t feel the least bit short-changed.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 hits theaters on July 15.
