A new film, inspired by Harry Potter universe is coming and the author of the famous book herself, J.K. Rowling will be writing the script. The spin-off film, based on the story of “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, will be part of a series about one of the original characters, Newt Scamander, and will take place 70 years before Harry’s time.
On Thursday, Warner Bros. announced they have signed contract with J.K. Rowling for a whole new series of movies. For first time in her career, the British novelist will be writing a film script. As she explained it will be neither a prequel, nor sequel to the Harry Potter series. It will be inspired by a textbook Harry was required to study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, called “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”. Its fictional author, Newt Scamander will be most likely the protagonist in the story, which means that Harry, Hermione and Ron will be absent. The story of the 21-yeal-old Scamander will start in New York about 70 years before Harry Potter’s appearance and won’t have a direct link with the original movie.
With more than 450 million copies of Harry Potter books sold worldwide, Rowling has become one of the most successful novelists of our time. She also wrote two small Harry’s schoolbooks – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and “Quidditch Through the Ages, as well as another spin-off book, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” and two crime fiction novels. The eight blockbuster movies about the boy wizard have grossed more than $7.7 billion, making Harry Potter the largest-grossing film franchise in history. Warner Bros. are now planning to extend the production of anything related to Harry Potter and also to continue with two more movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. The new spin-off series taking place in the wizards’ universe are expected to be as successful, given the great brand recognition of Harry Potter.
