Warner Bros. Entertainment and J.K. Rowling are developing a new series of films inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and the adventures of the book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander.

J.K. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut with “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” WB announced today. It is intended to be the first in a series of films.

More to come …

Fantastic Beasts purports to be a reproduction of a textbook owned by Harry Potter and written by magizoologist Newt Scamander, a fictional character in the Harry Potter series. In the series, Magizoology is the study of magical creatures.

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, provides the Foreword and explains the purpose of the special edition of this book (the Comic Relief charity). At the end, he tells the reader, "...The amusing creatures described hereafter are fictional and cannot hurt you." He repeats the Hogwarts motto: "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus", Latin for "Never tickle a sleeping dragon".

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them contains the history of Magizoology and describes 75 magical species found around the world. Scamander says that he collected most of the information found in the book through observations made over years of travel and across five continents. He notes that the first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books. However, it was not published until 1927. It is now in its 52nd edition.

In the Harry Potter universe, the book is a required textbook for first-year Hogwarts students, having been an approved textbook since its first publication. It is not clear why students need it in their first year, as students do not take Care of Magical Creatures until their third year. However, it may be used as an encyclopaedia of Dark creatures studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. In his foreword to the book, Albus Dumbledore notes that it serves as an excellent reference for Wizarding households in addition to its use at Hogwarts.

The book features fictional doodles and comments in it by Harry, Ron and Hermione. The comments would appear to have been written around the time of the fourth book. These doodles add some extra information for fans of the series; for example the "Acromantula" entry has a comment confirming that Hogwarts is located in Scotland.

Integrated in the design, the cover of the book appears to have been clawed by some sort of animal.

All ended well for Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling’s books, but it turns out the author isn’t finished with her magical world. Rowling and Warner Bros. have announced that she will adapt her Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, into an cinematic adventure about that book’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander. Rowling’s first-ever screenplay is expected to be the first of a series of new films about the wizarding world that fans know well from the Potter books and movies.
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“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,” said Rowling, in a statement. “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.”

The Harry Potter books may have infinite horcruxes, as it seems to be the franchise that never dies.

Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling sent fans into a frenzy Thursday with the announcement that Rowling’s wizarding textbook, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” will be turned into a movie with the book’s fictitious author, 21-year-old Newt Scamander, as the focus.

However, Rowling made it clear that the book and the upcoming movie is neither a sequel nor a prequel to the seven-book megahit and the eight-movie run that raked in $7 billion over a decade. Does that mean that Harry, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley will be absent from the upcoming movie?

“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, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway,” Rowling said in a statement.

But Rowling later stated that it was Warner Bros. who first approached her with the idea of a “Fantastic Beasts” movie.

“Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt,” she said of her decision agreeing to write the screenplay.

With Harry Potter being such a massive success for Warner Bros., it makes sense for the new movie to orbit around the Potter world, as “The Hobbit” did with “Lord of the Rings” characters who, despite not appearing in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” book were added into the feature film to lure fans of the LOTR franchise. Plus, the famous Hogwarts trio actually play a small role in the book.

“Fantastic Beasts” is a textbook of Potter and Weasley’s, and the two appear to have written notes all throughout the text, hinting to happenings in the Potter books and movies.

Seeing how “Fantastic Beasts” will take place in New York in 1918 and the Harry Potter series occurred in England in the ’90s, flash-forwards could be a way to integrate the Hogwarts gang. Time travel is possible in the wizarding world as well. In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” Granger used a time turner jump from time to time.

During the entry for the Basilisk, when the author says that there have been no sightings of the beast for four hundred years, one of the characters playfully wrote “that’s what you think,” alluding to the Basilisk Potter faced off against in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” It’s one of many nods to the original series.

Scamander isn’t completely removed from the gang, either. He did graduate from Hogwarts, Potter’s alma mater, and the book includes a foreword written by Albus Dumbledore, the school’s headmaster and prominent figure in Potter’s life. Also, Scamander’s grandson married Luna Lovegood, one of Potter’s classmates.

There’s also a question about how the new film will look. With 75 beasts in the textbook, many of which were featured in the original books and movies, it’s possible that the new movie could be even more CGI-heavy than the Harry Potter films.

The movies became increasingly CGI-centric, with dramatic effects in the final battle at Hogwarts and the Potter-Voldemort last stand. There are also several beasts in the textbook that didn’t have their chance to be introduced in the Potter series, so it’s unclear which magical species will be introduced for the first time in “Fantastic Beasts” and which will return.

But one of the most crucial issues of all is casting: Who will be up to playing the 21-year-old bookish Scamander? With Rowling so protective of the character, it’s likely that she will have a large say in the decision.

“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,” she stated.

Until then, Potterheads will have plenty of time to speculate, as no release date has been announced yet.

'Harry Potter' Spinoff 'Fantastic Beasts' Nabs David Yates to Direct
11:32 AM PDT 8/21/2014 by Borys Kit

Warner Bros. to Shoot J.K. Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts' at U.K. Home of 'Harry Potter' Franchise ‎
Yates, who directed four of the eight Harry Potter movies for Warner Bros., is in negotiations with the studio to direct Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the new Potter-based franchise the studio is hoping to launch with author J.K. Rowling.

Rowling is writing the screenplay for the movie, which is set 70 years before the events of the Potter series, and centers on a fictitious author named Newton Artemis Fido Scamander. In Potter lore, Scamander compiled a reference guide to magical beasts, and the movies will follow his adventures after he is commissioned to write the tome. Unlike the Potter stories, which kicked off in London, Fantastic Beasts will begin in New York.

Fantastic Beasts is a massive undertaking for Warners, which is keen on keeping the magic of Potter alive beyond the initial eight-movie franchise, which grossed more than $7.6 billion worldwide. When announcing the Fantastic Beasts partnership with Rowling in September 2013, Warners said the property was being developed across video game, consumer product and digital initiative businesses.
Warner Bros. had no comment.

Yates directed the acclaimed British miniseries State of Play (later turned into an American movie starring Russell Crowe) and several TV movies before making his feature debut helming 2007’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Half-Blood Prince and parts 1 and 2 of Deathly Hallows followed.
Rowling was heavily involved with the movies and developed a strong relationship with the director, so he is a natural choice to take the reins on Fantastic Beasts.

Yates is currently shooting Tarzan, with Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie, for Warners. He is repped by CAA.

Eddie Redmayne Frontrunner for 'Harry Potter' Spinoff

Warner Bros. has zeroed in on Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne for the lead role for Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling is heavily involved in the project and is writing the script.

David Yates is on board to direct the feature project, which is set 70 years before the events of the Potter series and centers on a fictitious author named Newton Artemis Fido Scamander. In Potter lore, Scamander compiled a reference guide to magical beasts, and the movies will follow his adventures after he is commissioned to write the tome.

Redmayne, who would play Scamander, has no offer at this stage but is the studio's top choice. One thing holding up the process is that the script is still being worked on. Sources say Redmayne won't commit until he reads it.

Warners had no comment.

Other leads in the movie are two sisters, their parents and a character named Jacob, say sources.

Redmayne is already a studio favorite after chewing up the scenery in Jupiter Ascending (even if the movie didn't do particularly well at the box office). But his fan base grew even more after he won an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

He could be courting an Oscar again with The Danish Girl, the drama he is currently shooting in which he plays transgender artist Lili Elbe.