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!
phoenixweasley
Hi, I saw your post over on The Leaky Cauldron. I like your comment on your blog about the crystal being symbolic. I like how you allude to the fact that Snape’s death and the memories are the moments the readers (and Harry) get a crystal clear vision of who Snape really was. To me the change can be symbolic in that crystal is very delicate as was Snape’s mission from the moment he decided to help the ootp. Crystal can break so easy and a small crack (leak)can destroy it. Snape was very much like crystal because any slip up could bring his mission tumbling down shattering it in to a million pieces just like broken crystal. I think a crystal structure is perfect place for his death
I was absolutely thrilled when I read about this… In one of my Aeternitas proposals, I wrote
In this presentation, I shall discuss the concept of “the true self,” and the process whereby Professor Snape attained full adulthood, that is, discovered and embodied his own true self. Using material from a variety of sources, including my book of mystical essays, The flawed master: lessons Professor Snape taught me, and C.G. Jung’s writings, I shall illustrate how Snape became Self-aware, and transcended duality -how he developed “the capacity to unify the opposite tendencies of [his] personality” and realized “all aspects of [his] personality as they were originally concealed in [his] center.”
The image that best symbolizes this achievement is the crystal flask into which Snape’s memories were poured. As I wrote in The flawed master, “After trying to take Harry’s mother away, Snape was now giving her back to Harry… Should it be any surprise that Snape’s gift was contained in crystal, ‘glass of fine quality and a high degree of brilliance,’ ‘clear, transparent’?” When he died, it was “not only [his] eyes that were open, but also his heart, his mind, and his soul.”
So yes. The crystal house? I am thrilled
(Hey, July 15th is the day before by birthday!) Well, I think that Snape STILL should’ve died in the Shrieking Shack…….what’s the point of changing the setting???? (No offense to David Yates)
I meant “my” birthday in the previous comment.
I think is is beautiful. So sad at the same time. I always wished if they were going to change the move from the books I wanted Snape to live. Especially with Allan Rickman playing that part.
I agree with Jenn why change where snape dies ? why can’t you just stay as true to the book as you can ? what i mean is , there are soooo meany Harry Potter fanes like my self that just wont the movie to be as true to the book as posible. This one change sholdent make that big of a difrence to the story.the only thing that i realy expect or wont from the movie is for it to go over all of snapes past and why he made the he made choices. i hope that this movie wont be a disapountment becouse i have been watting for this movie for the last 8 years.
ooops i ment to say in the second to last line : *why he made the choices that he maid.( sorry i coldent just leave my mistake. lol )
Hm. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. I had pictured Snape’s death in the Shreiking Shack really precisely. This is a big change. I suppose it’s good that they’re trying to make it more dramatic though. Severus deserves a climatic death scene.
I hope they don’t change the way he dies though. I always thought that his death was probably the coolest one in the books. Usually JK Rowling has the characters die instantly, using the avada kedavra or something of that sort. But Snape’s death was slower, a little gorier (and a lot sadder) thanks to Nagini. I think it will be interesting to see whether or not they will go that dark in the movie.