Actor Eddie Redmayne got the lead role in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the new spin-off from the Harry Potter series. The film will be the first of a planned trilogy.
Plot synopsis:
“The adventures of writer Newt Scamander in 1920’s New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school.”
Director David Yates (who helmed previous Harry Potter movies) is in charge of the project.
Beside Eddie Redmayne, the cast also includes:
– Katherine Waterston as Porpentina Goldstein aka Tina,
– Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein,
– Dan Fogler as Jacob,
– Ezra Miller as Credence,
– Samantha Morton as Mary Lou,
– Jenn Murray as Chastity,
– Faith Wood-Blagrove as Modesty,
– and Colin Farrell as Graves
Character profiles:
Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne)
An eccentric globe-hopping English “magizoologist” wizard who’s far more comfortable around beasts and creatures than he is around other people. Comes to New York on a quest with his case full of magical habitats containing rare and endangered species.
Porpentina “Tina” Goldstein (Katherine Waterston)
An ambitious worker at the Magical Congress of the United States of America (aka MACUSA, the U.S. version of the Ministry of Magic) who meets Newt. Tina is relegated to an office well below her abilities after she stood up for the wrong person. She longs to fight for what’s right.
Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol)
Tina’s younger sister and roommate, a big-hearted free-spirit “legilimens” who can read minds.
Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler)
An optimistic No-Maj (aka Muggle) factory worker/aspiring baker who gets introduced to the wizarding world when he meets Newt. Fun fact: He’s the Harry Potter franchise’s first Muggle main character.
Graves (Colin Farrell)
A powerful auror and the right-hand man of the American wizarding world’s president.
Mary Lou (Samantha Morton)
The narrow-minded leader of the fanatical Second Salemers, a group looking to expose and destroy wizards and witches.
Credence (Ezra Miller)
Perhaps the cast’s most mysterious character. He’s Mary Lou’s troubled adopted son.
The release date of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set to November 18, 2016.
And the sequel, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2, should hit theaters on November 16, 2018, followed by the third installment, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3, on November 20, 2020
:)