SUBMITTED BY pimpjoe_esb

May 3, 2007 —

David Yates, director of the upcoming "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," confirmed to SCI FI Wire that he will return to the director's chair for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth film in the blockbuster franchise. Yates, the British director best known for the U.K. miniseries "State of Play" and "The Girl in the Cafe," is currently completing "Phoenix," based on J.K. Rowling's fifth "Potter" book, and had been rumored to be attached to "Prince."

"I am doing "Half-Blood Prince," and I'm doing it because I love the world, I love the characters," the BAFTA-winning director said in an interview. "I think I have more business with this world and these characters."

Yates was brought on to the franchise to helm "Phoenix," which has political overtones and deals in part with a rebellion at Hogwarts led by Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint).

"I've made a kind of tonal shift with the fifth film, which I want to continue and develop into the sixth film," Yates said. "And I can see the fifth story evolving into the sixth story in a really interesting way. So I'm on a journey with this material and this world, and I'm keen to complete it."

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