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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) is the sixth book of the Harry Potter series, written by British author J.K. Rowling. The other books in the series include: (1) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), (2) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998), (3) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999), (4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000), (5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003), and (7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007).

So far there isn't a scheduled release date for the Trailer. Normally a Teaser Trailer will come attached to a film that has the same production studio as the Trailer in question. In "The Dark Knight" (IMAX version) which opens on July 18 appears a 23 seconds IMAX 3D Teaser Trailer. You can watch in Youtube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Az919nQjI

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A black screen with Dumbledore saying "Once again I must ask you to do the impossible, Harry." After that, the title is displayed and the leyend: "SELECT SEQUENCES IN IMAX 3D"

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There are also rumors that the theatrical trailer will come attached to "The Mummy: Tomb of The Dragon Emperor" opening August 1st. This should not be confused with the information listed above, as Theatrical trailers and Teaser trailers don't necessarily follow the same guidelines in terms of which films they are placed in front of. As of right now, it is only an assumption that the Teaser trailer will appear in front of "The Dark Knight" on July 18, followed by the Theatrical trailer on Aug 1st with "The Mummy: TDE"

There is a possibility of there not being any Teaser trailer, as the studio may just wait for the Theatrical trailer. This has been know to happen from time to time, and might be the case here. If so, it is unknown when the trailer will be released. But heavy speculation points to the middle August probably with the release of Warner Bros next film "Star Wars: Clone Wars " (Aug 15)

The IMAX Corporation confirmed that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" will be released simultaneously in IMAX theaters. Some sections will be in IMAX 3D.

Richard L. Gelfond, IMAX Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer said:

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" [...] certain sections of the film such as the finale will be presented in IMAX 3D."

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You can watch the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince teaser trailer for IMAX 3D here--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Az919nQjI

From the teaser trailer:

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"Once again i must ask too much of you, Harry". "SELECT SEQUENCES IN IMAX 3D"

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As discussed elsewhere in this FAQ, a young actor was cast as young Tom age 11, and a sneak-peak reveals the Wool's orphanage set, so we can safely assume that Dumbledore's own flashback of visiting young Tom and inviting him to Hogwarts will be in the movie.

Actors were cast as teenage version of Tom Riddle and Lucius Malfoy, so we can also assume that Slughorn's flashback of Voldemort (where we hear the first reference to the mysterious Horcruxes) will be in the movie.

The book also has flashbacks to the house of Marvolo, Morfin and Merope Gaunt, from the memory of a representative of the Ministery of Magic (this introduces the ring with the black stone); a flashback to Voldemort stealing the ring from Morfin (this memory was buried deep in Morfin's mind); and a flashback of Hepzibah Smith, who owned the Hufflepuff Cup and Slytherin Locket (later Horcruxes). The cast list does not include any of the characters mentioned in those flashbacks, so the presence of the flashbacks in the movie is currently questionable. However, the theft of the black ring, and the introduction of the cup and locket, seem especially important to the plot of the next film, so perhaps these flashbacks make it into the movie in some form. And, as said before, with the movie being in post-production, the cast list may not be complete yet.

Ralph Fiennes is not listed in the cast list for the Half-Blood Prince, and as IMDb is usually very thorough in their roll call, also listing uncredited actors or actors only appearing in archive footage, this probably means he will not be in the movie. In the book, Voldemort makes his appearance only in the flashback scenes that Harry and Dumbledore experience with the Pensieve. His first appearance is as a young boy, played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, who is Ralph Fiennes' nephew.

Tom/Voldemort also appears as a teenager at Hogwarts. Christian Coulson, who played the adolescent 'diary ghost' version of Voldemort in The Chamber of Secrets, will not return as the adolescent Tom in Half-Blood Prince. He is instead played by Frank Dillane.

There are some flashbacks in the book where the adult (and clearly marked) Tom returns to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. This would provide an opportunity to show the adult Tom in the movie as well. However, no one is credited as 'Adult Tom/Voldemort' on the cast list, so this may mean these scenes did not make it into the movie. But with the premiere still being some time away, perhaps this might change.

Clémence Poésy, who played Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, has confirmed that her character has NOT been cast in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie. It is also to be assumed that the character of Bill Weasley, who remains uncast, is not in the film. That is not neccessarily to say, however, that their storyline together won't be mentioned. No details are known as of yet.

The love triangle between Dean (Alfie Enoch), Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Ginny (Bonnie Wright) has been referenced several times by director David Yates and producer David Heyman. Not to mention an officially released picture shows Dean's in.

There is a very strong rumour that Petunia Dursley (Fiona Shaw) and possibly Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling) are in. Nothing is confirmed though.

Scrimgeour hasn't been officially announced, but a rumour surfaced a while ago saying that there would be a few surprise cast members. Evidence that would support Scrimgeour's casting includes a character to appear in a "boardroom" (which would suggest something political) has been cast and is specifically said to be in the opening scene (a scene which is reportedly a variation on "The Other Minister" chapter which opens the book upon which the movie is based). A seemingly very reliable source for the website the-leaky-cauldron.org has refused to give details on the opening scene, saying it is different from the book's opening and he is staying silent specifically for a "Scrimgeour-related reason"...

It is also to be noted that director David Yates made a point of mentioning the name of his good friend Bill Nighy for the role. At the time, he was unsure if the character would be written in, with the plans changing every day.

In the book, and in the film, a character is cursed by a locket whilst walking back to the Hogwarts Castle from the village of Hogsmeade

This character remains to be Katie Bell (Georgina Leonidas). The rumour that Cho Chang (Katie Leung) was replacing her in this situation was one that surfaced when it was discovered Cho Chang had been cast and Katie Bell had not. It is now clear, however, that the character of Katie Bell has now been cast, played by Georgina Leonidas, Molly from the British children's programme, The Basil Brush Show. She and her friend Leanne (Isabella Laughland) can be seen in the officially released picture of Professor Slughorn's potion's class.

It is certain that it is Katie Bell involved in the scene as two models have been made of Georgina Leonidas, one to represent a normal sized Katie Bell and the other made smaller for when Hagrid carries her.

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm759207680/tt0417741

As we all know, certain aspects of a story are subject to change when a story is adapted for the big screen. As we have not yet met the character of Katie Bell (Georgina Leonidas) or her friend Leanne (Isabella Laughland) in the films yet, it appears the filmmakers saw fit to bring her into Harry's (Daniel Radcliffe) classes so we get to know her better before Katie is cursed by the opal necklace.

It is the same situation for Romilda Vane (Anna Shaffer), who is two years below Harry but who becomes important when she tries to slip Harry a love potion via chocolates which Ron accidentally eats

The other characters such as Dean Thomas (Alfie Enoch), Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), Lavender Brown (Jessie Cave) are all there, we can only assume, for extra screen time.