Just when you thought Harry Potter fandom was at an end…
Oh, wait. No one thought that. Harry Potter fandom, thanks to the success of the eight feature films and the subsequent theme park attractions, has become a permanent part of the pop cultural consciousness. And the fandom will continue in both the form of a play (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is currently on stage) and of the new feature film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (due in theaters on November 18th), which does not involve Mr. Potter at all, but is set in the same world of wizards from whence he hails.
This is the latest preview released by Warner Bros. from their panel at this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego. The film is based on a spinoff book by Potter’s original author J.K. Rowling, is set in the year 1926, and stars Eddie Redmayne. Redmayne plays a character named Newt Scamander who acts as a diplomat between the world of wizarding people, and the world of non-magic people.
Will the magic continue for Potter fans, or will this be too far a departure? Can people get as excited about Newt Scamander as they did for the famous boy wizard? We shall see.
Top Image: Warner Bros.
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and the co-host of The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon. He also contributes to Legion of Leia and to Blumhouse. You can follow him on “The Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
