Harry Potter fans, hold on to your broomsticks: J.K. Rowling is bringing her world of magic back to theaters, making her screenwriting debut with a new spinoff movie
In a Sept. 12 post on her Facebook page, Rowling announced she has teamed up with Warner Brothers to create an adaptation of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a companion book to the Harry Potter series.
Released in 2001, it is featured in the Potter books as a Hogwarts textbook written by Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who specializes in magical beasts.
“As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge,” Rowling wrote on her Facebook page. “That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.”
Following the hugely successful eight-part movie series, this new installment will mark the ninth Warner Bros. adaptation of the author’s work. The project is the first movie in a completely new franchise, Warner Bros. said.
Stakes are always high for follow-ups to such an immensely popular and successful series. So, what can we expect from this new feature?
Although not much information has been provided, Potter fans will be happy to hear the new installment will be set in the same magical universe audiences and readers have grown to love. Rowling, however, hinted the story will be a stand-alone feature unrelated to the Potter series.
“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,” Rowling said. “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.”
Details about casting and script decisions have yet to be announced, but until then, let’s keep our fingers crossed for another magical series.
Email: [email protected]
