What’s better than having one movie set in the wonderful world of Harry Potter ? Three of them! In a recent tweet, author J.K. Rowling confirmed that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be forming a trilogy.
According to Independent , Rowling’s tweet came in response to recent rumors that her stageplay based in the Harry Potter universe would be adapted into a movie. Those rumors were shot down by Rowling.
“You heard wrong, I’m afraid,” the best-selling author wrote via Twitter. “#CursedChild is a play. #FantasticBeasts will be 3 movies, though!”
On a good note, Us Weekly informs casual fans that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 18, 2016, is also the title of a textbook about magical creatures penned by Newt Scamander 70 years before Harry Potter ever arrived to Hogwarts.
As for the film’s plot? GamesRadar reveals that Newt Scamander arrives in New York during the 1920s with a briefcase stuffed with monsters. Of course, the monsters aren’t trapped inside the suitcase for long, as actor Eddie Redmayne (Scamander) said, “This one catalyst sets in motion a sort of insane amount of events that just cause chaos.”
While monsters invade the dirty streets of a 1926 New York, things get worse as the magical community is threatened by Muggle investigators. Led by a certain evil muggle, in particular, Samantha Norton, the New Salem Philanthropic Society are out to kill wizards and witches.
Along with Redmayne, Colin Ferrel makes an appearance as part of Congress and Ron Perlman as a New York gangster. The main plot will center around Scamander’s friendship with a pair of sisters and a No-Maj, the North American word for Muggle.
Actresses Alison Sudol and Katherine Waterston will portray Queenie and Porpentina Goldstein, and muggle Jacob Kowalski will be played by comedian Dan Fogler.
It is a Harry Potter wizarding world, after all, but still not many details are known about each character. Queenie is said to be a mind reader, or a Legilimens in Rowling’s universe. Porpentina, nicknamed Tina, works within the Magical Congress. While actress Sudol said that the sisters share a deep bond from raising each other, No-Maj Jacob is simply trying to have a normal life by running a bakery after coming back from the war.
Other cast members include Jon Voight as a U.S. Senator, Trainwreck ‘s Ezra Miller as Mary Lou’s troubled adopted son , Humans’ actress Gemma Chan and Selma ‘s Carmen Ejogo.
Another role, which was cast via an open audition last year, was for the character named Modesty. While thousands of children tried out for the role, the winner went to 10-year-old Faith Wood-Blagrove from the U.K. Warner Bros. held the open audition to find someone that could bring a “haunted” character with “inner strength and stillness” into reality. However, it is still unknown who this Modesty character is in the film, but she will clearly run into Scamander along the way.
The film is also in safe hands when it comes to directing. David Yates will be taking the helm for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and his experience directing other Potter films such as The Order of the Phoenix , The Half-Blood Prince , and both Deathly Hallows movies, makes him a valuable asset to the success of the first of three movies.
Producer David Heyman is also returning for the film and when you add in the fact that the filming for the movie has been occurring in London’s Leavesden Studio’s—same location for a large majority of the Potter films—the movie seems to be only one wave of a wand away from being another blockbuster.
Tell us! Were you excited to learn that the Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will be a trilogy? Let us know in the comments and check out the official teaser below.
[Image via Warner Bros]