It was bound to happen! Having already grossed the best part of $8 billion at the box office it was only a matter of time before Warner Bros. gave the public more of their beloved Harry Potter.
J.K. Rowling, the book’s famous author, is writing a Harry Potter spin-off based on the series’ spin-off book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Have you heard of Fantastic Beasts before on your Harry Potter travels?
Avid fans out there will remember the reference, as it is mentioned in the novels. You may recall that Harry and Co. studied that book at Hogwarts .
Warner Bros. has been sure to safeguard Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and is also making sure it registers trademarks for any other Harry Potter spinoffs. There are also other names which are being trademarked such as The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Quidditch Through the Ages .
Even though Warner Bros. are registering those trademarks it is no guarantee that the books will end up on the big screen. Despite the fact that the trademarks cover everything from TV to video games no one knows if or when Warner Bros. will adapt the spinoffs for the big screen.
Here is the full statement released by J.K Rowling regarding the Harry Potter spinoffs:
“It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author ofFantastic Beasts, realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood. As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros. 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. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway. I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”