J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts’ To Be Made Into A Trilogy

‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Fantastic Beasts’ author J.K. Rowling

After the Harry Potter film franchise became a worldwide phenomenon, author J.K. Rowling is now adapting her fantasy spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them for a planned trilogy of films.

This comes in the wake of Warner Bros.’ other big fantasy franchise, The Hobbit, also being produced as a trilogy. The final entry There And Back Again, directed by Peter Jackson, has been set for release later this year.

Back in September, studio Warner Bros. announced plans to adapt the 54-page Fantastic Beasts for the big screen, with Rowling herself making her screenwriting debut to ensure no magic is lost in the transition. According to The New York Times, Rowling was persuaded by Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara to return to film: ““We had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I’d thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting!”, Rowling stated.

Described by Rowling as “an extension of the wizarding world” rather than a direct sequel or prequel to the Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts follows magical zoologist Newt Scamander as he travels the world in search of mystical creatures.

The book was published in 2001 as a tie-in to the Harry Potter universe. The book, and Scamander, exist within the fictional world of Rowling’s stories, the text itself being read by Harry and his friends at multiple points in the narrative.

The final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, was released in 2011. In total, the eight films of the franchise made an estimated $7,709,205,984 at the worldwide box-office.

Any potential cast or release date has yet to be announced.