If you’re a Harry Potter fan you’ve probably been feeling sort of empty since the last movie came out. Sure, you finished the books and felt a loss, but you still had the movies to look forward to. You could scrutinize every event, the pivotal lines, and the accuracy of the character portrayals even if it wasn’t the same as the book. But then the last movie came out and since seeing it you haven’t been able to fill that void. You find yourself wishing that Hogwarts was a real place so you could keep living the books.
Well, it seems like J.K. Rowling feels similar. She lived and breathed these books for seventeen years of her life. She’s most likely more attached than you, I know it sounds impossible. And now she’s telling the world that she’s not ready for it to end. She’s not bringing back Harry or Ron or Hermoine, or even their children, but she is bringing the wizarding world of magic to the big screen again.
Warner Bros. Entertainment has entered a partnership with J.K. Rowling to start a new film franchise. Set 70 years before Harry’s time, the film’s star will be a familiar character: Newt Scamander. If you don’t remember him he was author of the textbook, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.” The series will start in New York City and won’t have any ties to Harry and the gang other than the larger world of witches and wizards that tie them together. But fans will recognize the creatures, laws, spells, and historical references.
Vivacious readers might be disappointed that the series will go straight to film but J.K. Rowling signed onto the project with the specific stipulation that she would write the screenplay (it will be her first). We still get to witness Rowling’s imagination and immersing worlds even if we don’t get to read them. Here’s what she had to say about it to The Independent:
“I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realized by another writer was difficult. 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.”
It’s easy to see Rowling’s heart is in it. I doubt she’ll deviate from the things that fans love so much about Harry Potter. Rowling’s ability to tell a story set in a magical setting, about things that us muggles can relate to, in a way that makes us totally and completely fall in love with her characters, is what makes her unique. So to reluctant fans I would say, give Newt a chance. If Rowling stays true to the Harry Potter style, I think we’ll all fall in love with him too.
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