As a child, I fell in love with the Harry Potter series in large part because of its animals, its giant spiders and hissing snakes. Remember the magical Thestral, the winged horse visible only to those who have seen death? They are my personal favorite, and the image my young self conjured while reading the books still haunts me.
Here’s some good news for all you Harry-animal lovers: J.K. Rowling is writing a screenplay for Warner Bros. entitled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film will be set seventy years before Harry’s saga begins and follow protagonist Newt Scamander, author of the fictional bestiary textbook used at Hogwarts.
We are sure to see some familiar faces in this film, but we don’t have to worry about Harry’s beloved story being corrupted with new plot lines. Fantastic Beasts, which will hopefully become a film series, is a whole different “animal” (get it?). "Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen 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,” explains Rowling.
The story will open in New York and will take us on a journey into the magical wizarding world with Mr. Scamander. I cannot wait to see what characters and beasts, new and old, emerge from Rowling’s head. Neither can Kevin Tsujihara, CEO of Warner Bros.: “[Rowling] is an extraordinary writer, who ignited a reading revolution around the world, which then became an unprecedented film phenomenon. We know that audiences will be as excited as we are to see what her brilliant and boundless imagination conjures up for us,” he says. Are you stoked or what?
Thanks to Vulture and Hollywood Reporter
Image via The Independant and MTV
