Harry Potter (film series) was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, allowing nevertheless for the inclusion of many Irish actors, such as Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" where characters from the book are specified as such. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Bros. to make non-author-written sequels. Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the first film, he declined
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) and Sirius. The present Harry realises that it was actually him who conjured the Patronus, and does so again. Harry and Hermione rescue Sirius, who escapes with Buckbeak. Exposed as a werewolf, Lupin resigns from teaching to prevent an uproar from parents. Sirius sends Harry a Firebolt broom, who happily takes it for a ride. With "Prisoner of Azkaban", production of the "Harry Potter" films switched to an eighteen-month cycle, which producer David Heyman explained was "to give each [film] the time it required." Chris Columbus, the director of the previous two films, decided not to return to helm the