Warner Bros. Entertainment announced Friday that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 will be released in 2D only, in both conventional and IMAX theaters:

Warner Bros. Pictures has made the decision to release "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1" in 2D, in both conventional and IMAX theaters, as we will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window. Despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality. We do not want to disappoint fans who have long anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey, and to that end, we are releasing our film day-and-date on November 19, 2010, as planned. We, in alignment with our filmmakers, believe this is the best course to take in order to ensure that our audiences enjoy the consummate "Harry Potter" experience.

As a result, we expect that theaters will be pulling their showtimes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 3D and that showtimes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: An IMAX 3D Experience will be changed to reflect that the movie will be in 2D only, but those changes haven't happened yet.

That means that there should be quite a few more showtimes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 showing up in the next few days!

I can't say that I'm sad to see this happen, as I'm not a big fan of 3D conversions of movies created in 2D (just as I am against colorizing old black and white movies and panning and scanning widescreen movies), but so long as the original 2D version was available, everyone could choose for themselves.

While the official story is that there wasn't time to complete the 3D conversion in time for the November 19th release date, one has to wonder if the results they were getting was less than spectacular, and there just wasn't time to start over? In either case, kudos to Warner Bros. for having the courage to scrap the project than to release a substandard product.

The press release issued by the studio does say that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is still being planned for both 2D and 3D release in conventional and IMAX theaters. Time will tell if those plans change as the July 15, 2011 release date approaches!

What Do You Think?

Are you lamenting the loss of a 3D version of the next Harry Potter movie? Are you glad not to be tempted into paying the 3D upcharge on November 19th? Are 3D conversions an abomination that need to be eliminated altogether?

Share your opinions by leaving your comments below!

Updates

Reader Ron H. passed along a reference to this article in Variety that talks about some of the behind the scenes action behind Warner's decision to drop the 3D release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1. The article also mentions that the 3D conversion hasn't been completely dropped, and that a 3D release just before Part 2 is released could still be possible.