Waterston lands ‘Beast’

“Inherent Vice” actress Katherine Waterston has landed one of the lead female roles in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Warner Bros.’ “Harry Potter” spinoff, the studio announced Monday.

Waterston is to portray Tina (short for Porpentina), a witch. She will star opposite Eddie Redmayne as the magizoologist Newt Scamander, who stops in New York City to find and document magical creatures.

Intended as a trilogy of films based on J.K. Rowling’s slim fictional textbook of the same name, “Fantastic Beasts” will mark the author’s screenwriting debut. The story will begin 70 years before the events of the first “Harry Potter” novel.

David Yates, who directed the last four “Harry Potter” movies, is returning to helm the first “Fantastic Beasts” installment, which is scheduled for release Nov. 18, 2016.

Waterston’s previous credits include “Michael Clayton” and HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.” She could have a mainstream breakout with her parts in “Fantastic Beasts” and Danny Boyle’s upcoming biopic, “Steve Jobs.”