Colin-Izing the Wizarding World: Colin Farrell Joins Cast Of ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’

For those die-hard ‘Harry Potter’ fans chomping at the bit for every scrap of news leaked about Rowling’s next film, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,’ it seems Colin Farrell has been added to the cast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Farrell will be playing an American wizard named Graves who meets the lead of the film, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) in New York. No one is entirely sure how big the role is just yet, but with a name like Farrell in the role, it stands to reason it is probably fairly large, with potential to pop up in the possible sequels to the magical film in the future.

The plot of the film centers around Scamander venturing around the globe searching out interesting magical creatures so he can write about them in his book, but it seems most of the story itself will take place in New York, around 70 years before the events of the ‘Harry Potter’ series. Farrell and Redmayne will be joined on screen by Katherine Waterston (‘Inherent Vice’) and Alison Sudol (‘Transparent’), playing witch sisters Tina and Queenie, along with Ezra Miller (‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’) playing another unnamed magical character, and Dan Fogler (‘Take Me Home Tonight’) who will be playing a muggle named Jacob who becomes friends with Scamander, but may also at some point become his rival. Also, unlike in the ‘Harry Potter’ series, Scamander will be the only one speaking with an English accent, as the rest of the characters will be American.

It will be interesting to see the expansion of Rowling’s universe, especially with characters who will have no direct ties to the beloved characters we met in her original series, which means they will be free to explore and make choices without the audience knowing what their final fate will be (think of how little suspense was in the ‘Star Wars’ prequels since we all knew Amidala was going to die, and Anakin was going to become Darth Vader). Look for the Yates directed film to hit theaters next year on November 18th, 2016, and check back here for more news as it comes in!