Merrick here...

The casting of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange in HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX is, expectedly, getting a lot of play across the Net.

Interestingly, the same press release that announced her casting yesterday also confirmed the film's composer - the same composer which this site rumored back in April. What's noteworthy here is that most of us probably haven't heard of him....

His name is Nicholas Hooper. He's an accomplished composer from Britain who has a long association with PHOENIX director David Yates. His filmography is both extensive and award winning, although this represents his first foray into large-scale, mainstream production.

You can learn more about Hooper HERE. I checked amazon UK, where I found one Hooper soundtrack listed...LAND OF THE TIGER. Multiple sample clips of his work an be heard there, it's melodic, rich, and ecclectic. You can jump to that listing HERE.

I know Patrick Doyle's score for HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE wasn't a fan fave, but I rather liked Doyle's work in that film and thought his general approach to the music was dead on. I'm really curious to see how this new guy shakes out...