Severus Snape Deathly Hallows Part Two Movie Spoiler

SPOILER ALERT! The Hallows News Blog had this to report about the fate of Severus Snape in the upcoming film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. Don't read what's written below the poster of Severus unless you want to be spoiled.

From the Hallows News Blog:

In a new interview with Cine Premiere Mexico, Andrew Ackland-Snow, the art director for the Harry Potter series, divulged new information which states that (with the approval of J.K. Rowling) the death of Severus Snape has changed.

"We wanted to change a bit where Snape dies. In the book, he dies on the Shrieking Shack, and we wanted to get him out from, not a conventional interior, but from that kind of box, to do it in a more dramatic atmosphere. We asked J.K. if she agreed for that to happen in there, because we hadn't really seen it before. We made a crystal house, and you can see what happens in the boat house from there – Are you listening Harry? -, but also the school is in flames…and she loved it. Besides, it's a very romantic place to die. Snape dies in a extremely good way, I gotta say."

How, and if, this change will affect the film and plot has yet to be seen, but with J.K. Rowling's approval, and David Yates' track record, the change shouldn't be particularly drastic to the story.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is scheduled to be released on July 15, 2011.

I really like the fact that the art director said that they had J. K. Rowling's permission to change the location of Snape's death scene, and I am certain that many of the fans will agree. Placing Snape's death in a crystal house isn't just more cinematic, but also more symbolic. After all, in "The Prince's Tale" we finally get to see how much Snape has done behind-the-scenes. His silvery threads of memory are decanted into a (presumably) crystal flask so that Harry can view those memories in Dumbledore's pensieve. Snape's secret past is revealed through a crystal-clear vessel which allows Harry to see the truth about Severus for the very first time.

Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horrified.

"You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?"

"Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?"

"Lately, only those whom I could not save," said Snape. –Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows page 687.

Harry, like Snape, has also known what it is like to witness the death of someone worthy whom he was powerless to save: Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black, and Albus Dumbledore, among others. I think it is an absolutely brilliant decision by the art director to have Harry witness the death of Severus through the clarity of a crystal vessel amid the flames of purification which burn away the darkness that has shrouded the Potions Master's true nature for so long.

Professor Logospilgrim, my Snape-loving friend, if you are reading this, I would love to know your thoughts on this new cinematic development!