Rowling to Kill Two Characters in Final Harry Potter Book

James Joyner @ Gone Hollywood | Tuesday, June 27, 2006

J.K. Rowling said that two characters will die in the seventh and final Harry Potter book, perhaps including Harry Potter himself.

Reuters:

Children’s author J.K. Rowling has revealed that at least two characters will die in the seventh and final installment of her bestselling Harry Potter series, but was careful not to say who.

[...]

Rowling has already said that the final chapter of the seventh book was written long ago. “The final chapter is hidden away, although it’s now changed very slightly,” she said in an interview broadcast on Monday on Britain’s Channel 4. “One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die.” When asked to be more specific, she added: “No, I’m not going to commit myself, because I don’t want the hate mail or anything else.”

She did explain that she understood an author’s desire to kill off the main character of a successful series. “I’ve never been tempted to kill him (Harry) off before the end of book seven, because I always planned seven books and that’s where I want to go. “I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks ‘Well, I’m going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels … so it will end with me, and after I’m dead and gone they won’t be able to bring back the character’.”

Rowling, 40, wrote the first Harry Potter adventure when she was an unemployed single mother, but has gone on to become one of the richest authors in history with a personal fortune estimated at more than $1 billion. The Harry Potter series has sold an estimated 300 million copies worldwide.

AP adds:

“The last book is not finished. But I’m well into it now. I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I’ve known exactly how the series is going to end,” she said.

Some characters might die, but the blockbuster movie franchise lives on. Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that the fifth installment will be released in U.S. theaters, including Imax screens, on July 13, 2007. In “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” directed by David Yates, the teenage Harry continues to battle the evil Lord Voldemort (again played by Ralph Fiennes) and his followers. Daniel Radcliffe is returning as the title character, and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reprise their roles as Hermione and Ron. Oscar-nominated actress Imelda Staunton plays the malicious, frumpy Professor Dolores Umbridge, who tortures Harry.

[...]

Whatever she writes next, Rowling is sure of one thing: It won’t be as successful as Harry Potter. “I don’t think I’m ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry.”

And not many people get that.

UPDATE: Others offering thoughts: WBP

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