14 DAY TRIAL // Unlike other authors whose novels have been turned into very lucrative film franchises (here’s looking at you, Stephenie Meyer), J.K. Rowling never ruled out the possibility of revisiting, some time down the road, the “Harry Potter” universe.
Warner Bros. has just confirmed for The Verge that she will be doing just that in an upcoming spinoff movie that she will write.
What you must be hearing right now is the sound of millions of Harry Potter fans going crazy for joy.
The spinoff will focus on the character of Newt Scamander, who, in the original movies, wrote the book “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” that Harry had to read.
The action will take place before the events in the Harry Potter franchise, so the film will be a standalone production – which is pretty much codename for “don’t expect anyone you know from the franchise to appear in it.”
“Scamander's story will begin in New York, rather than London as in the original series, but Rowling says that all of the laws and customs that relate to hidden magical societies should remain familiar. The new film's events otherwise won't have a direct relationship to the events of Harry Potter,” The Verge writes.
If this spinoff does well at the box office, Warner Bros. is said to be considering the option of greenlighting even more similar projects.