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New ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ Cast Posters Explained

By Clare Mulligan
Published on: 09:51 PST, Oct 10, 2016

Warner Bros. has released nine Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast posters ahead of the film’s release on November 18th. The posters, which showcase nine main characters of the film, are jam-packed with hints and clues about Fantastic Beasts.

The source material for the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film came from a book of the same name, which is a companion piece to J. K. Rowling’s incredibly popular Harry Potter series. The book is not a straightforward narrative; instead, it is written in the form of a textbook that describes the numerous fantastic beasts and mystical monsters that author and wizard Newt Scamander encounters on his travels.

While the film retains the character of Newt and the general theme of finding and studying magical creatures, the rest of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast of characters and plot points are still mostly unknown. The film is set in the United States in the early 1920s, a departure from the modern British Harry Potter setting.

The new Fantastic Beasts posters released by Entertainment Weekly should help to shed some light on who these original characters are and what roles they play in the magical world.

Up first is the poster for Newt Scamander played by Eddie Redmayne, the star of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast. Newt is the character that audiences already know the most about. He is a ‘magizoologist,’ also known as someone who studies magical creatures. While Newt hails from England, his hunt for fantastic beasts takes him all over the world, including the United States, so it is fitting that his character poster includes suitcases.

Visible behind Newt is a crude sketch of a Niffler, a small creature that is attracted to shiny objects and which makes an appearance in the Fantastic Beasts book. Newt also holds on his arm a Bowtruckle, which is a plant-like magical creature.

Next up is Porpentina Goldstein, who is mentioned in the end notes of the Fantastic Beasts book as being Newt’s wife. However, the date and context of their marriage is unclear, so it’s possible that the two will get together sometime during the Fantastic Beasts film trilogy.

Porpentina is an Auror (basically a magical cop) for MACUSA, the American equivalent of the Ministry of Magic. Her status as a government agent is illustrated by the identification card behind her – looks like wizarding security is pretty strict! She’s also in front of a huge tracker that measures ‘Wizarding Exposure Threat Level,’ which will likely tend towards higher levels of danger throughout the Fantastic Beasts film as more and more creatures escape and wreak havoc.

Jacob Kowalski is a previously unknown member of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast of characters, as he does not make an appearance in the book. The new poster proclaims that he is a ‘No-Maj,’ which is an American term that means ‘Muggle’ (a person who cannot use magic). This poster also gives Kowalski a little bit of a backstory: the shop sign behind him says ‘Kowalski Bakery’ meaning that he might be a bake shop owner.

Another new addition to the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast, Seraphina Picquery’s poster indicates that she is not to be messed with as the President of MACUSA. Behind her, Colin Ferrell’s character Percival Graves is visible, so they most likely work closely together. If the Magical Exposure Threat Level tracker in Porpentina’s Fantastic Beasts poster wasn’t enough, this poster also features emergency messages proclaiming a high exposure threat level.

Colin Ferrell’s place in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast is as Percival Graves, the Director of Magical Security for MACUSA. His poster is the most ominous Fantastic Beasts poster by far: there’s a path of destruction behind him (likely where some magical creature trampled through the streets) as well as a necklace with the Deathly Hallows symbol on it and posters calling for a “second Salem.” It seems that in the Fantastic Beasts‘ world of 1920s America, wizards aren’t safe from persecution by No-Majes.

Since the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was looking a little too human, here’s Gnarlak, a goblin gangster. Judging by the wanted posters on his wall depicting Newt and Porpentina, Gnarlak is after our protagonists.

Next in the line-up of Fantastic Beasts posters is Mary Lou, the Leader of the Second Salemers. Her poster tells us all we need to know about her character and motivations – to her, wizards and witches are a ‘modern evil,’ and need to be eradicated in a ‘second Salem.’ Let’s hope she doesn’t get her hands on any fantastic beasts!

Ezra Miller plays Credence, a Second Salemer. His Fascist-esque haircut certainly illustrates his beliefs that there should be ‘no witchcraft in America!’ It seems that Fantastic Beasts will see Newt facing threats both inside and outside of the magical community.

Last but certainly not least is Queenie Goldstein, a Legilimens (magical mind-reader) whose last name indicates that she is Porpentina’s sister. Queenie’s role in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast of characters is not yet clear, but her thick stack of textbooks implies that she’s a talented and educated witch. That necklace on the mannequin behind her also looks like it’ll be important somehow…

Are you excited by the new Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cast posters?

[Featured Image by Warner Bros.]

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