Confirmed Director: David Yates
Warner Bros. announced that David Yates would direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on November 18, 2004 at the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD Launch Party. Past Harry Potter directors Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón both expressed interest in returning to direct a later Potter film, but neither returned for the fifth film.
Director Rumors
Rumors regarding the director of the fifth film started in December of 2003, when it was rumored that Stuart Baird would direct the film. However, just two days after the Baird rumor began, it was debunked by Warner Bros, who said that they had not started to think about a director for the fifth film. Rumors that Chris Columbus (helmed Potter's 1 & 2) would direct the fifth movie began in January of 2004 (articles here and here.) In early May of 2004, Chris Columbus said that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban would be his "swan song," meaning that he would not be a producer for the fourth film. However, in the same statement, Columbus said, "I would love to come back and direct one more in the future, but for the time being this is my last one." Later on in May, Columbus expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Teletext: "The kids have become so good as actors, they've grown so much. That's the only thing that may make me come back for a sixth or seventh film." Columbus noted that he would not return to direct a future film if the three main leads (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint) were no longer with the franchise.
Mike Newell, who is directing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has not stated whether or not he would like to return for the fifth movie, but he understands that Warner Bros. is comfortable with changing directors. In an interview with The Age in March of 2004, Newell said, "You find a way to make this stuff your own and you find, wonderfully enough, that that's exactly what the studio wants. The studio doesn't want a homogenised thing. They're perfectly happy to have each of the films directed by somebody different, and so should look different and be different. So I'm surprisingly happy."
In August and September of 2004, it was rumored that Mira Nair was asked to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Warner Bros. When contacted, Nair stated that she was getting offers to direct the movie, and that she is "still deciding." In an interview conducted several weeks later, she said that she has to "to sit with them and work out the dates. Until then I am forbidden from talking about it."
French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was asked by Warner Brothers to helm the film. In an interview with Variety on October 26, 2004, Jeunet confirmed that he had been asked to direct the fifth Harry Potter movie, but was still undecided. A few days later, in an interview with Le Parisien, Jeunet stated that although he had been asked to direct the fifth Harry Potter film, he opted not to: 'Warner Bros. proposed Harry Potter 5 to me. But they told me: 'You have two weeks to decide.' I've told them: 'No, thanks.'" Jeunet later elaborated on his decision, saying, "Almost everything was done, from the actors to the script. The only thing I would have had to do was to sit on the chair and say 'action'....My life is too short to make those kinds of movies."
Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn was also being considered to direct the film, but this information did not surface until several months after the Yates announcement. Why Yates over Vaughn? Potter producers thought that his vision for the film was "a tad too graphic and violent for the studio's taste." Vaughn understood their decision: "I did slightly scare them by saying the next 'Potter' has got to be more like 'The Dirty Dozen.' But I'm not going to be one of those directors who isn't honest about what he intends to do, and then changes everything when shooting has started and it's too late to fire him
Warner Bros. announced that David Yates would direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on November 18, 2004 at the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD Launch Party. Past Harry Potter directors Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón both expressed interest in returning to direct a later Potter film, but neither returned for the fifth film.
Director Rumors
Rumors regarding the director of the fifth film started in December of 2003, when it was rumored that Stuart Baird would direct the film. However, just two days after the Baird rumor began, it was debunked by Warner Bros, who said that they had not started to think about a director for the fifth film. Rumors that Chris Columbus (helmed Potter's 1 & 2) would direct the fifth movie began in January of 2004 (articles here and here.) In early May of 2004, Chris Columbus said that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban would be his "swan song," meaning that he would not be a producer for the fourth film. However, in the same statement, Columbus said, "I would love to come back and direct one more in the future, but for the time being this is my last one." Later on in May, Columbus expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Teletext: "The kids have become so good as actors, they've grown so much. That's the only thing that may make me come back for a sixth or seventh film." Columbus noted that he would not return to direct a future film if the three main leads (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint) were no longer with the franchise.
Mike Newell, who is directing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, has not stated whether or not he would like to return for the fifth movie, but he understands that Warner Bros. is comfortable with changing directors. In an interview with The Age in March of 2004, Newell said, "You find a way to make this stuff your own and you find, wonderfully enough, that that's exactly what the studio wants. The studio doesn't want a homogenised thing. They're perfectly happy to have each of the films directed by somebody different, and so should look different and be different. So I'm surprisingly happy."
In August and September of 2004, it was rumored that Mira Nair was asked to direct Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by Warner Bros. When contacted, Nair stated that she was getting offers to direct the movie, and that she is "still deciding." In an interview conducted several weeks later, she said that she has to "to sit with them and work out the dates. Until then I am forbidden from talking about it."
French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was asked by Warner Brothers to helm the film. In an interview with Variety on October 26, 2004, Jeunet confirmed that he had been asked to direct the fifth Harry Potter movie, but was still undecided. A few days later, in an interview with Le Parisien, Jeunet stated that although he had been asked to direct the fifth Harry Potter film, he opted not to: 'Warner Bros. proposed Harry Potter 5 to me. But they told me: 'You have two weeks to decide.' I've told them: 'No, thanks.'" Jeunet later elaborated on his decision, saying, "Almost everything was done, from the actors to the script. The only thing I would have had to do was to sit on the chair and say 'action'....My life is too short to make those kinds of movies."
Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn was also being considered to direct the film, but this information did not surface until several months after the Yates announcement. Why Yates over Vaughn? Potter producers thought that his vision for the film was "a tad too graphic and violent for the studio's taste." Vaughn understood their decision: "I did slightly scare them by saying the next 'Potter' has got to be more like 'The Dirty Dozen.' But I'm not going to be one of those directors who isn't honest about what he intends to do, and then changes everything when shooting has started and it's too late to fire him