Good news if you weren’t ready to say goodbye to the Potterverse… you don’t have to! First J.K. Rowling admitted that the stage production, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ is indeed a continuation of the story from the books and movies and next year sees the release of ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ a prequel film set in the same world but in the United States, specifically New York City, in the 1920s. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who penned (or is alleged to have penned) one of the pivotal text books used by the students at Hogwarts during Harry’s time.
The movie also features Katherine Waterston as Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein and Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski. The first look at the cast in character on the set have magically appeared in the new Entertainment Weekly which goes on sale on Friday, but here is a preview, as well as some tidbits from the cover story that gives a hint at what to expect from the film.
One clue can be discerned with close examination of the cover image (or the last picture which is the cover image minus the text). Judging by the gold plaque on which Redmayne’s Scamander is standing, he is in the Magical Congress of the United States of America. This Congress is the U.S. equivalent of the Ministry of Magic (for whom Scamader is working) and has previously been mentioned on Pottermore. The MCUSA is based in the real life structure the Woolworth Building, which was erected in 1912. It has not been revealed whether the MCUSA was formed at that time or if it existed before and relocated to this metropolitan location.
Since the Magical Congress is the U.S. version of the Ministry of Magic, does that open the door to other Americanized takes on Potter institutions? Is there a North American version of Hogwarts?
The magazine article will surely reveal a lot more and will be available in digital or print on Friday.
‘Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them’ was written by J.K. Rowling and directed by David Yates. It opens on November 18, 2016.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly
