What was the first Harry Potter film directed by J.K. Rowling’s frequent collaborator David Yates?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the first Harry Potter film directed by David Yates.

Released in 2007, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was the fifth film in the series and Yates’s first entry as director. He went on to direct the remaining four Harry Potter films, making him the director most closely associated with the latter part of the franchise.

The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermione. Imelda Staunton plays Dolores Umbridge, the Hogwarts professor whose authoritarian rule becomes a central conflict. The screenplay was written by Michael Goldenberg, while Rowling wrote the source novel.

Yates later directed the Fantastic Beasts films, which expanded the wizarding world beyond Harry’s school years. He was not the director of the earlier films: Chris Columbus directed the first two, Alfonso Cuarón directed the third, and Mike Newell directed the fourth.