It’s been a big week for fans of the Harry Potter franchise. We got our first look at the logo for the prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, followed by a ton of images
Entertainment Weekly has all the info. First up, here’s spoiler free plot description, which basically just gives context for how the movie begins. In EW’s words:
Eccentric magizoologist Newt Scamander (Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne) comes to New York (for a reason we won’t disclose) with his trusty weathered case. This case is one of those way-way-way-bigger-on-the-inside magical devices, and within are expansive habitats for a collection of rare and endangered magical creatures from Newt’s travels around globe. He discovers the American wizarding community is fearfully hiding from Muggles (who are called “No-Maj” in the States) and the threat of public exposure is an even graver concern than in the UK (remember the Salem witch trials?). Fantastic Beasts is the story of what happens when this uniquely skilled English wizard travels to wiz-phobic America and a variety of his creatures, some quite dangerous … get out of their case.
Is it me or does that last bit kind of like the plot of the Goosebumps movie? But, in first-time screenwriter J.K. Rowling we trust.
So who are the characters that be on the ride for this adventure? EW has that info too.
- Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scramander: “An eccentric globe-hopping English ‘magizoologist’ wizard who’s far more comfortable around beasts and creatures than he is around other people.” His trails are explained above.
- Katherine Waterston as Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein: A hard worker who was relegated to a crappy office at the U.S. version of the Ministry of Magic, the Magical Congress of the United States, after standing up for what she believes.
- Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein: She’s Tina’s younger sister and can read minds.
- Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski: A no-maj factory worker who meets Newt and discovers a world he never knew existed.
- Colin Farrell as Graves: “A powerful auror and the right-hand man of the American wizarding world’s president.” An auror, in case you forgot, is kind of like a magical detective. Harry Potter grew up to be one.
- Samantha Morton as Mary Lou: A villainous character who is the leader of a group called the Second Salemers, “a group looking to expose and destroy wizards and witches.
- Ezra Miller as Credence: Mary Lou’s son, described as “the cast’s most mysterious character.
I mean–that all sounds pretty excellent, no? And if you want even more Fantastic Beasts, Rowling’s official site Pottermore is filing regular reports from the set and the first one is up here.
We’ll find out more about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the coming months as director David Yates completes production, leading towards the November 18, 2016 release date.
Contact the author at germain@io9.com.