J.K. Rowling‘s ‘Harry Potter’ Spinoff Gets An Actor Shortlist

J.K. Rowling fans never lost their hope to get another peek into the world of Harry Potter and, well, their favorite writer made their dreams come true. The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy, based on the special magical creatures textbook used in Hogwarts, is going to be released in 2016 – and its director, David Yates, has already created an actor shortlist.

The Wrap found out, which actresses are considered fit to play in new J.K. Rowling’s creation.

“Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, Lili Simmons and Alison Sudol are up for the role of Tina, while Kate Upton, Katherine Waterston and Elizabeth Debicki are being eyed to play Tina’s older sister, Queenie, multiple individuals familiar with the situation have told TheWrap.

Though it’s unclear whether all of those actresses are available, or even wish to pursue the project, several of them already have test deals in place, and Redmayne is expected to read alongside them during those tests, which are slated to take place over the next week.

However, it’s still not confirmed whether at least one of the actresses from the shortlist is going to get the desired role. Other applicants might show up in time. So far, Warner Bros. has given no comments on who is most likely to play the main female characters.

The Inquisitr reminds fans once again that though the events of the series are going to happen in Harry Potter’s world, there will be no sign of their beloved heroes in it, because the plot of the trilogy is set seven decades before Potter’s story.

“The trilogy will focus on the book’s author, Newt Scamander, and author and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling noted that the new series isn’t connected to Potter himself.”

“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series but an extension of the wizarding world,” she said.

So, how high are fans’ expectations? The spin-off will surely have lots of action and most likely – a thought-through plot (for it’s Rowling who has written the script), but that’s not what makes people worried. The most important question is whether the Potter world is going to look like a foreign one without him in it or whether the audience will just be able to see everything from a new point of view. Unfortunately, that’s for J. K. Rowling to know – and for us to find out.

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