Unwilling to let the profitable Harry Potter franchise die, Warner Bros. are moving ahead with spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. However, don’t dismiss it as a shameless cash in just yet as it has some serious talent behind the scenes with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling writing the screenplay.
It also appears as if the movie will impress in front of the camera as well, with recent Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) emerging as the frontrunner for the lead role of Newt Scamander.
David Yates – who directed a number of the Harry Potter movies, including the two-part finale – will also helm this movie, and while he’s said to be considering a number of other actors, it sounds like the part is Redmayne’s to lose at this point. Another name mentioned by the site is X-Men star Nicholas Hoult.
Fantastic Beasts is based on a textbook which was released by Rowling for charity. It had no story, making this movie something completely new to fans. We do however know that it will be set seven decades before the events of the Harry Potter franchise, so expect to see a very different side of the wizarding world.
There’s set to be four other main roles, with the studio on the hunt for two American girls and two American boys. The first part of a trilogy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits on November 18th, 2016.
