It is believed that newly crowned Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne has been approached for the lead role in the Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.
Redmayne, who starred in this year’s award-winning production of The Theory of Everything, was apparently offered the role of Newt Scamander.
Variety claimed the British actor was the favorite for the role but wanted to see the script before committing. Sources have claimed Redmayne was satisfied after reading the finished script and is now ready to move forward with the project.
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However, it is still up to director David Yates to decide who exactly will be considered for the role after Harry Potter author JK Rowling completes her first screenplay. She wrote the entire Harry Potter series, this is her first screenplay and the first of three she will write as part of the Fantastic Beasts trilogy.
The Fantastic Beasts series is set around 70 years before the Potter story. It is set in New York, revolves around the Hogwarts textbook of the same name, and revolves around its author, Newt Scamander, who is described as a magical zoologist (for those unfamiliar with the Potter universe, that’s someone who studies magical creatures).
Despite the witches and wizards setting, Rowling is adamant that the film has nothing to do with the Potter series. “‘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 explains.
In addition to this main role, there are four other key characters in the trilogy, namely two girls and two boys, all of whom are American, but whose casting has yet to be determined.
These other clues, as well as Scamander’s confirmation, will be announced over the next few weeks, and more Fantastic Beasts news is sure to make headlines in the coming months.
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