Harry Potter fans rejoice! JK Rowling is writing a series of spin-off films set in her much-loved wizarding world.
The British author has announced she will pen the script for several new feature films based on one of the Harry Potter’s schoolbooks Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The movies will feature the book’s fictitious author Newt Scamander.
In a post on her Facebook page, Rowling said she agreed to try her hand at screenwriting after Warner Bros approached her with the idea of turning the story into a film.
“I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realised by another writer was difficult,” Rowling wrote.
“Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.
“As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.”
But while the new movies will be set in Harry Potter’s magical world, the boy wizard will not feature in them.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen 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.
“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.
“I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”
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