20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Harry Potter

11. M. Night Shyamalan Wanted To Direct The Deathly Hallows

Back when his name wasn't a total joke, The Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan was linked with helming the very first Harry Potter movie, but a scheduling conflict with Unbreakable prevented this. Years later, the director confirmed he was interested in directing the last Potter film, saying, "The themes that run through it...the empowering of children, a positive outlook...you name it, it falls in line with my beliefs...I enjoy the humour in it. When I read the first Harry Potter and was thinking about making it, I had a whole different vibe in my head of it." The gig of directing both Deathly Hallows movies ultimately went to the series' reliable stalwart David Yates, and given Shyamalan's numerous high-profile duds leading up to the filming of The Deathly Hallows Part 1, there's just no chance Warner Bros. would have trusted him with a project this important. Can Shyamalan probably still direct a good script? Yes, but it just wasn't worth the risk when Yates was more than willing and ready.