Yates will direct the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which was written by J.K. Rowling. "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. "I think I have more business with this world and these characters."
"I’ve made a kind of tonal shift with the fifth film, which I want to continue and develop into the sixth film," Yates added. "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."
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be released in both conventional and IMAX theatres on July 13, while the sixth film should be in theatres on November 21, 2008.