Harry Potter 5 – David Yates: “I wanted the films to mature at the same time as the audience”

The Order of the Phoenix returns this evening on TMC.

Channel 10 will rebroadcast this evening Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixthe fifth opus of the Warner Bros saga, released in cinemas in 2007. At the time, its new director, David Yateshad recounted in First his arrival in the saga, contacted by producer David Heyman to concoct a more adult sequel, and tackling more political subjects, after having seen his series State of Play. Here is an excerpt from this interview; the complete interview with the team, film by film, can be found in our special special issue 20 years of Harry Potter (No. 15 July-August 2021). Since the success of this blockbuster, Yates has directed three others within the franchise: the final installments of Harry Potter until 2011, as well as the trilogy Fantastic Beastsreleased between 2016 and 2022.

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“I heard that Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Matthew Vaughn had been considered – at least, they were around. (Laughs.) David just told me that he was a big fan of my work for the TV. The Order of the Phoenix was supposed to be a radical film, with a lot of emotion. And there was this political subtext… The studio thought I would be the ideal candidate. At first I thought it was a joke: I had just finished the series Sex Traffic and I told myself that no one in their right mind would hire the director of Sex Traffic to make a Harry Potter…I believe that the saga actually needed to be shaken up, awakened. The production was looking to dust off the franchise and did not want to rest on its laurels. I feel like they had ” fear “ success. It's paradoxical for a series of films of this scale, but above all they didn't want to lock themselves into patterns or any formula. And on this film, they needed to get back to reality.”

“We talked a lot about that with David and Jo. I wanted to “grow” the saga, take it into darker and more “adult”. Chris had done a phenomenal job building this world, making it fun and accessible. It’s something we’ve all benefited from. Alfonso went even further by freeing himself from the novel with a wild imagination. He proved that the saga could take risks. Mike, for his part, had a blast introducing an even more spectacular dimension and a very British sensibility. For my part, I wanted to dig deeper into the characters, accompany them through adolescence while increasing the realism and suspense. I wanted the films to mature at the same time as the audience. At first, I was a little afraid that the blockbuster aspect of the series would be a hindrance. I come from television and independent cinema, so finding myself at the helm of a film of this size was a little disturbing. I had never filmed with such a budget. But I quickly understood that, under the protection of David and Jo, I could bring my personal touch to this environment. Moreover, The Order of the Phoenix responded to work I had done previously. It was a story very close to me; in any case, I felt the emotional dimension intensely. And gradually I became addicted. As soon as I woke up, I thought of Hogwarts. At night, I dreamed of Hogwarts… I guess you have to be a little obsessive for that kind of job.”

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