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 (film series) also composed the soundtrack to "Half-Blood Prince" but decided not to return for the final films. In January 2010, Alexandre Desplat was confirmed to compose the score for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1". The film's orchestration started in the summer with Conrad Pope, the orchestrator on the first three "Harry Potter" films, collaborating with Desplat. Pope commented that the music "reminds one of the old days." Desplat returned to score "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2" in 2011. Director David Yates stated that he wanted John Williams to return to the series for