Dumbledore is definitely dead, and Helen Bonham Carter is definitely in the next Harry Potter film.

Author J.K. Rowling made the Dumbledore announcement at a charity event yesterday at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Answering questions about the reported deaths in her still-untitled upcoming book, Rowling said, “You shouldn’t expect Dumbledore to pull a Gandalf. I need to be more explicit: Dumbledore is definitely dead. I know there’s an entire site out there called DumbledoreIsNotDead.com, and I’m sorry they’re not going to like this answer.”

As previously reported by the Geeks of Doom, Rowling has said that two major characters will die in the seventh and final installment in her Harry Potter series. Fans speculate whether Harry Potter will be one of the two — including famed horror writer Stephen King and novelist John Irving, both of whom are trying to persuade Rowling not to kill off her title character. Rowling has not revealed which characters are doomed.

In other Harry Potter news, Helen Bonham Carter has joined the cast of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Carter replaces Helen McCroy in the role of Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius Black’s cousin and a member of the evil Lord Voldemort’s Death Eaters.

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX hits theaters July 2007. Check out pictures from the set of the new movie here.