‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ On Set Images Released From The ‘Harry Potter’ Spin-Off

New and exciting images from J.K. Rowling’s upcoming Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, have officially been released. The images, according to Den of Geek, offer a first look at some of the characters found in this new storyline based in the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

For starters, the images show just how the lead character, played by Eddie Redmayne, will look in the role of the famous creature catcher. Scamander is the main character in the movie who travels to New York City in order to track down magical creatures on the loose.

However, his journey is complicated when Scamander is met with an American wizarding community that lives in fear of their fellow Muggles, who are set to be referred to as No-Maj in the U.S. Apparently, things start to turn for the worse when some of Scamander’s rare and endangered creatures escape from his case. This leads to Scamander trying his best to keep things under wraps from the non-magical community, who are bent on taking down their magical rivals.

In the photos from the set of Fantastic Beasts, originally released by Entertainment Weekly, Scamander is shown walking through the city in a teal-colored coat, carrying a curious-looking suitcase. While it is certainly good for fans to see how Redmayne will look in the film, complete with coat and wand, his suitcase is by far one of the more interesting aspects of this character.

According to The Guardian, Scamander’s suitcase has certain magical qualities that make it useful for his line of work. Not only does this mean that the bag is bigger on the inside, like Doctor Who’s Tardis, but it also has enough space to store the beasts he tracks down in their own self-contained environment. With that in mind, it appears as though this will play a large role in the plot of the film.

In addition to the suitcase, there are a few other surprising developments about the film that have been released of late. This includes how the term Muggle is not going to be applied to the American non-magical people. In fact, the No-Maj are vastly different from their U.K. Muggle counterpart.

In the Harry Potter films and books, the Muggles were largely manipulated by the wizards and witches, who controlled their own world from behind the scenes. However, in America, the magical community live in fear of the No-Maj and things have reached a point where wizards are basically hunted down like in the Salem witch trials.

Ultimately, this means that Scamander will have a lot more on his plate than just worrying about capturing some exotic magical beast. Exactly how he manages to keep his own magic under wraps and evade the No-Maj should be an interesting part of the story.

Starring alongside Redmayne will be Samantha Morton, who plays the leader of the anti-magic group, named Mary Lou. At the same time, Ezra Miller is set to play Morton’s son, Credence, while Colin Farrell will be playing the role of Graves, a strong aurora who is thought to be leading the battle against the anti-magic group.

Meanwhile, the movie will also have a romantic element for Redmayne in Katherine Waterston’s character, Porpentina. Just how her relationship with Scamander develops will be interesting to see, especially considering his eccentric personality.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is being directed by David Yates, who also helmed the final four Harry Potter movies. The film is scheduled to appear in theaters everywhere on November 18, 2016.

Tell us! Are you excited about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them? Check out the teaser trailer below and let us know what you think in the comments.

[Image via Warner Bros]