Japanese fans wait for British actor Daniel Radcliffe
© AFP/File Toru YamanakaLONDON (AFP) - Indeed, the only thing that is more eagerly anticipated than the release of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" in cinemas around the world may be the seventh part of JK Rowling's best-selling books, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows," due out July 21.
The six books published thus far have sold 325 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 64 languages, while the four films have grossed 3.5 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) worldwide.
They have even spawned a theme park in Florida -- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is expected to open in Orlando in late 2009.
Rowling's final tome, however, is generating even more excitement than her last six -- the author's British publisher Bloomsbury said last month that export orders for the latest edition are 17 percent higher than the total for the sixth instalment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
L-R: Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe
© AFP/File Shaun CurryAnticipation for the book's release has reached such a fever pitch that an Internet hacker claimed to have broken in to the computers of the publishers of the "Harry Potter" books and discovered the ending of the series -- Bloomsbury rejected the claims.
Rowling has said she will kill off two characters from the series, without revealing which ones.
But much of the betting has been on the bespectacled wizard himself, played by Daniel Radcliffe, dying -- bookmakers William Hill stand to lose 17,000 pounds if Potter does indeed die.
Retailers fear that the ending of the series and the accompanying deaths could cause such level of distress among fans that Waterstone's, a major bookseller, are planning to set up a helpline for readers.
Even the cast of the latest Harry Potter are awaiting the release of the finale, with Radcliffe reticent to venture his own theories, saying that Rowling would "come up with something far more interesting or exciting than anything we can ever predict or imagine."
J.K. Rowling
© AFP/File Evan AgostiniEvanna Lynch, 15, who plays Potter's schoolmate Luna Lovegood in the latest film, is planning to queue up along with fans to get ahold of the final tome.
The book will become available to the public at one minute past midnight in Britain on July 21 (2301 GMT July 20), and at the same time in the rest of the world except for the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Before getting their hands on the final book in the series, fans will be able to see Radcliffe play Potter for the fifth time in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."
The film, produced at a cost of 150 million dollars (110 million euros), has been described by Radcliffe as the film he was most proud of, while co-star Emma Watson -- who plays Potter's friend Hermione Granger -- told reporters it was the "most genuine" of the series.
Radcliffe, Watson and their co-star Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the films, are all signed on for the final two films, due out in the next two years.
The latest film has generated even more buzz than usual as it features the young Harry Potter's first kiss, with schoolmate and friend Cho Chang, played by Katie Leung.
It is set to premiere on London's Leicester Square on Tuesday before being released in cinemas worldwide beginning July 11.
©AFP