Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

As Harry, Ron and Hermione begin their sixth year at Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters are openly wreaking havoc throughout Britain, and a climate of fear and mistrust prevails throughout the wizarding world. Once at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione find that Snape is to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor; filling his vacancy as Potions master is Horace Slughorn.

Slughorn lends Harry an old textbook marked as the property of "The Half-Blood Prince"; the talented former owner's handwritten notes help Harry excel in the class.

Suspecting Draco Malfoy may have become a Death Eater, Harry confides his suspicions to Dumbledore, who appears unconcerned, as do Ron and Hermione.

Dumbledore begins giving Harry private lessons, using Dumbledore's Pensieve to view collected memories about Voldemort's past. A memory belonging to Slughorn is partially missing, and Harry is given the task of retrieving it.

The lost memory leads to what will become the central quest of the book: unraveling the secret behind Voldemort's immortality and the key to his possible defeat.

Before David Yates was officially chosen to helm the film,[1] many others had been offered the job, and previous directors had expressed an interest in returning.[4] Director of the first and second Potter films Chris Columbus said he would return as director if, and only if, the actors he originally cast as the trio (Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson) were not replaced for this film.[5] Subsequent reports confirmed these three actors' returns, though Columbus made no comment before Yates was chosen.[2] Alfonso Cuarón, the director of the third film, Prisoner of Azkaban, has said he "would love to have the opportunity" to return.[6] Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell declined a spot to direct the fifth film, and there were no reports that he was approached for this film.[7]

Terry Gilliam was Rowling's personal choice to direct Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. However, when asked whether he would consider directing a later film, Gilliam said, "Warner Bros. had their chance the first time around, and they blew it."[8] Matthew Vaughn and James McTeigue had reportedly been approached as well.[9] M. Night Shyamalan was also asked at one point, but has since declined the position,[9] and said that he would like to try his own hand at writing an adaptation of a book before attempting to take on Harry Potter.[10] Access Hollywood reported that Michael Hoffman was in talks to direct,[11] though the rumor was confuted within a few days.[12]

On 13 November, WB announced that nobody was in negotiations to direct.[13] It had been repeatedly reported that around Christmas 2006, Warner Bros. would make a decision regarding the director,[9][11] but not until May 2007 was Yates announced as the director. Yates is the second director, after Columbus, to direct not only two films in the series, but both consecutively.

Filming is scheduled to start in September 2007.[14] Some sources have rumored that filming may move from the UK, where all of the previous five films have been shot. This is North Scotland reported filming will take place in New Zealand, due to the "more agreeable economy and climate" and lack of Scottish funding.[15] The Sunday Business Post in Ireland has noted that the film's producers and WB executives have been scouting there, specifically Leinster and Munster because they "believe they have now exhausted possible locations in Britain." They are "particularly keen on Ireland, as the landscape is similar to Britain and will appear similar to the settings of the previous films."[16] It is also confirmed that the crew are now scouting around Cape Wrath in Scotland for the cave scene.[17] Still, Lacock has been confirmed as a location the producers are interested in utilizing.

Set design
As of February 2007, Stuart Craig has been designing sets for the film, including the astronomy tower where the climax of the film takes place.[19]

Harry Potter - Daniel Radcliffe - Warner Bros. officially announced on 23 March 2007; Radcliffe will return for this film as well as the seventh.

Ron Weasley - Rupert Grint - Warner Bros. officially announced on 23 March 2007; Grint will return for this film as well as the seventh.

Hermione Granger - Emma Watson - Warner Bros. officially announced on 23 March 2007; Watson will return for this film as well as the seventh.

Draco Malfoy - Tom Felton - Has a penciled-in contract, though not set in stone. Claims he will do the seventh film if he can.

Neville Longbottom - Matthew Lewis - Confirmed in an interview on 22 June 2007.

Luna Lovegood - Evanna Lynch - Confirmed in an interview at Dublin premiere of Order of the Phoenix on 8 July 2007.

Nymphadora Tonks - Natalia Tena - Confirmed in an interview with the Telegram & Gazette on 14 July 2007.

[Role - Actor/Actress - Notes]

Auditions took place in England in April 2007, though reports would not state which role the audition was for. The actor who auditioned for the role reportedly went to school with screenwriter Steve Kloves, making him about 47.[32] An open casting call will be held in July 2007 for Tom Riddle.[33] Though Christian Coulson played Riddle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and expressed interest in returning if he was asked,[34] Yates has commented that Coulson is too old, nearing 30, to be playing the role.[35]

An open casting call was held on 1 July 2007 for Harry's classmate Lavender Brown, with whom Ron has a relationship. Over 7,000 girls turned out for the role audition.[36] Yates has said that he plans to bring Rupert Grint, the actor who plays Ron, to read certain lines and kiss with the top five choices for Lavender, to see which pairing has the best chemistry.[35] In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Jennifer Smith had a cameo role as Lavender.

Recent rumors have suggested that Naomi Watts has been cast as Draco Malfoy's mother, Narcissa Malfoy,[37] and that actors Jack Davenport, Stephen Rea, and Peter Rnic are in negotiations, though the roles were unspecified.[38]

Bill Nighy has expressed interest in appearing in this film. Friends with director David Yates, he joked with him "that maybe now I wouldn't be the only actor in England who hadn't been in Harry Potter."[39] Yates has suggested that he is considering Nighy for the role of Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, but is uncertain whether the character will be in the finished screenplay or not.[40]