Eddie Redmayne to star in Harry Potter spin-off
Every summer, it seems as though someone comments that what the world needs is a new Austin Powers movie. We could all use another appearance by the International Man of Mystery. The same always seems to hold true for the holiday need for another Harry Potter movie. Too many Christmas’ have passed since the final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came to an end. Fear not, Harry Potter fans, Oscar-winning actor, Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) has just signed on to play the wizarding world’s best ‘magizoologist’ Newt Scamander in upcoming Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Based on a 42-page textbook designed for Hogwarts pupils and published in 2001, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them follows the adventures of Scamander, who dedicates his life to the search for magical creatures in an “extension” of Potter’s fantastical world. Targeted for a 16 November 2016 premiere, the film will be the screenwriting debut of JK Rowling, who also plans’ at least’ two more films that would premiere in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
It was Rowling, herself, that revealed some details of the film to fans last September: “The laws and customs of the hidden society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films,” she wrote. “But Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”
It’s been a busy time for Redmayne since his Oscar-winning performance as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Before heading over to begin work on the Harry Potter, prequel, Redmayne recently finished filming his role as transgender artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Gift. In addition, Redmayne will have a voice over credit to put on his CV as part of the new Thomas and Friends but (I’ll leave that for another day, another time.
In: Odds & Sods
