Eddie Redmayne Is Newt Scamander

Eddie Redmayne, who just won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, has landed the lead in the new Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

He will play Newt Scamander, a pre-eminent Wizarding World magizoologist (an expert on magical creatures) living in New York about 60 years before Harry Potter is even born.

Readers of the Harry Potter books know the name Newt Scamander as the writer of the textbook Fantastic Beasts, required reading years later by Hogwarts students.

JK Rowling wrote the Fantastic Beasts book, published in 2001, and describes it: “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.

“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 under way.”

This movie is going to be Rowling’s screenwriting debut.

There’s some other Harry Potter tie-ins: The film’s director, David Yates, directed the final four Harry Potter films, and producer, David Heyman, also worked on all eight Potter movies.

The story is going to be released as a triology with the first film, Fantastic Beasts, in theatres November 18, 2016.