Eddie Redmayne is frontrunner for 'Harry Potter' spin-off
Eddie Redmayne is reportedly the frontrunner to star in the upcoming Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
The British actor, 33, is being eyed for the role of Newt Scamander, multiple outlets report. In production from Warner Bros., “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” is an upcoming adaptation of Rowling’s 2001 supplemental book to her Harry Potter series.
News broke in September 2013 that the beloved author, 49, would be earning her first screenwriting credit for the spinoff, which is due out on November 18, 2016. Details have trickled out in the years since, as it was announced as a three- part series, directors were eyed, and the first film booked a release date.
The story focuses on the magizoologist Newt, who penned the Hogwarts textbook “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” A graduate of Hogwarts, the wizard author has ties to Harry Potter and his friends, as his grandson Rolf marries Ravenclaw’s Luna Lovegood as an adult.
Rowling clarified the relationship between “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” and her original seven Harry Potter books in a Facebook post in 2013.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world,” she wrote, referencing the years that she worked on the beloved series and its eight film adaptations.
“The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry’s gets underway.”
There has been no comment on the reports from Redmayne or Warner Bros.