By Tanuja Anudhe:Â
In 2013, J.K. Rowling announced that a movie is being made of the fictional book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which has been mentioned in the Harry Potter series. The fictional book was written by the fictional Newt Scamander, a “magizoologist”, Order of Merlin, Second Class, and the movie will star him, Newton Artemis Fido Scamander, in 1920s New York, looking for fantastical creatures.
(Fun fact about Newt: His mother was a Hippogriff breeder.)
And also, it will be filmed in 3D! (Bad news if you wanted to go with the round spectacles look.)
Rowling is writing the screenplay herself. Well, in 2014, we found out that it isn’t actually one movie, but three! Three movies more about the magical world! *Woot woot*
What’s there to look forward to, you ask? Well, here you go:
1. More details about the wizarding world
After a while of not having movies and books anymore, this was the state of Harry Potter fans:
Seriously. We were THAT willing to learn about magical paint drying. There’s been fan fiction, head cannons and one-shots, but nothing, nothing, nothing can replace the real thing. And that exactly is what good ol’ J.K.’s giving us, albeit with a new protagonist.
2. A chance to get some perfectly amazing Brit actors on screen as part of the Hogwarts franchise.
Everyone from Benedict Cumberbatch to Harry Styles of One Direction are being proposed by fans all over for the role of the amazing finder of magical creatures. Look at this BuzzFeed post to find more.
3. A closer look at what makes Hagrid tick
Why does no one love Rubeus Hagrid as much as they love Harry? Poor chap’s borne so much. From delivering Harry to the Dursleys’, to going to Azkaban a lot, to having to carry the hypochondriac Draco around when he hurts himself. And then he gets to be the first one to think that Harry’s dead. Wow. No wonder then, he is, and should be, one of the most beloved and admired characters of the Potterverse. And don’t you want to know him better? Why he loves his terrifying beasts, why he won’t leave the hut near the Forest full of aforementioned beasts, and so on? Here’s your chance! You’ll find out about the animals which are tied to Hagrid’s love, his benevolence, and his remarkable selflessness. Need I say more? And if you want more, here you go:
What this tumblr post says is true: We need more Hagrid love. Hopefully, and this is for me at least, the new movie trilogy will flesh out Hagrid’s character a bit too.
4. Amazing creatures!!!
We’re just waiting to see how Jarveys, Erumpents, Ashwinders, Doxies, Lethifolds and many, many, many more creatures are envisioned by the creative department of the upcoming films. Word is out on whether any more will be added, but of course, even these promise to show us a unique view of the magical world. By the way, here’s the actual concept art for Aragog, one of the Forbidden Forest’s population of Acromantula:
To see more of the art, go here. (Source: Warner Bros.)
5. American Wizards and Wizarding Schools
We haven’t much been exposed to international witches and wizards except in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where the only mention of American witches talks about some middle-aged ones from the Salem Witches’ Institute. Hopefully, now we’ll get to hear about some goodish magic in New York, and also learn about how wizards train in America (come on, they can’t just go to England because they get a letter in the post). By the way, did you know that the name of the Institute is a reference to the Salem Witch Trials?