Redmayne joins ‘Potter’ spinoff

It’s time for Eddie Redmayne to choose a wand — or for a wand to choose him.

The Oscar-winning British actor is set to play the lead in the “Harry Potter” spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Warner Bros. announced.

Redmayne will portray “magizoologist” Newt Scamander, who travels the wizarding world encountering and documenting mystical creatures. In the “Harry Potter” mythos, Scamander is the author of the Hogwarts textbook from which “Fantastic Beasts” takes its title.

In the real world, “Fan- tastic Beasts” is a 42-page book published by “Potter” author J.K. Rowling in 2001. Rowling will make her screenwriting debut adapting and expanding the book into three “Fantastic Beasts” films. The first installment is scheduled for release Nov. 18, 2016.

Kirk McKoy Los Angeles Times EDDIE REDMAYNE will play Newt Scamander in “Fantastic Beasts.”