It’s just over a year before fans can re-enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the big screen, when ‘Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them’ magically appears in theaters, but filming of the tie-in has just kicked off in Leavesden, England.  The new flick, the first of three, takes place 70 years before the Potter books and movies and focuses on the character Newt Scamander, who is… er, in search of Fantastic Beasts.  In modern times, the tome Scamander eventually puts together serves as a text book at Hogwarts for Harry and his fellow students.  But clearly completing this journal isn’t as easy as just sitting down and typing it out.

‘Fantastic Beasts’ is the first screenplay written by J.K. Rowling, who penned all of the ‘Potter’ books (and the actual  ‘Fantastic Beasts’ book).  It is directed by David Yates who called the shots on the last four movies, so there should be continuity between the two series.

While much of the casting has trickled out over the past few months, here is the official breakdown from Screen Rant:

  • Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) is Newt Scamander, described as “the wizarding world’s preeminent magizoologist, who stops in New York following his travels to find and document magical creatures.”
  • Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Alison Sudol (Transparent) are the sisters (Porpen)Tina and Queenie. Rowling has revealed (via her Twitter account) that pair – who encounter Newt when he travels to New York – have the last name of Goldstein and thus, are distantly related to Anthony Goldstein (a Ravenclaw student in the Harry Potter series).
  • Colin Farrell (True Detective) is Graves, though for now additional details on the character remain under-wraps.
  • Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury) as Jacob, who is reportedly a Muggle (re: non-Wizard) whom Newt befriends on his adventures.
  • Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is Credence, a character said to be a wizard who crosses paths with Newt at some point.
  • Samantha Morton (Minority Report) is Mary Lou, another characters whose nature (Muggle or Wizard?) remains to be seen.
  • Jenn Murray (Brooklyn) is Chastity, a young woman who may be related (or might just be a friend) to the character Credence.
  • Newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove is Modesty, another young character whose role in Scamander’s story remains to be seen.

Although it says Farrell‘s role is under wraps, it was previously reported that he was the first wizard that Scamander encounters in New York.  It remains to be seen if that is correct or was just a rumor.

A bit of a hint from Rowling herself is that Scamander is the “supposed author” of ‘Fantastic Beasts’.  Is that a clue that somehow he isn’t the true author?  Could he possibly have a ghost writer?  And in the world of ‘Harry Potter’, is the ghost writer a real ghost?  Or does Rowling’s tease mean that Scamander will simply have help in compiling his findings?

And while ‘Fantastic Beasts’ is an extension of the Potter-verse, it isn’t a direct prequel, so while there will probably be recognizable elements and maybe even some Easter Eggs for die-hards, don’t expect story elements to bridge these new movies with the existing ones.

‘Fantastic Beast & Where To Find Them’ hits US theaters on November 18th, 2016.  Warner Brothers has already set the dates for the two follow-ups as well, with the first arriving on November 16th, 2018 and the second on November 20th, 2020.

Are you ready for more adventures in the Wizarding World?

Source: Screen Rant