The Wizarding World Returns with film of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'

Jes Stiehm
News Editor
      Harry Potter’s story might be over, but J.K Rowling hasn’t stopped writing about wizards and witches yet. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (FBaWtFT) was first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as one of Harry’s textbooks. At the time it was only a throwaway title to fill up a school book list, but Rowling took it further and actually published a copy of FBaWtFT under the name of the fictitious author Newt Scamander in 2001. Scamander was known as a famous magizoologist in the Harry Potter universe. The short book is a basic guide to the magical creatures in the Harry Potter Universe. Since then, Warner Brothers proposed the idea of making it a spin-off film, and Rowling readily agreed. Rowling wrote the film’s screenplay and welcomed back David Yates, the director of the last four Harry Potter movies.
     Rowling has released several tidbits of information over the past few months. Eight promo photos were released early November, giving Potterheads (collective name for Harry Potter Fans) a look inside Newt Scamander’s world. It has become apparent that there are several differences between the wizarding worlds in Britain and America. To reveal these pieces of information, click on the magical "read more" button below.

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• American wizards do not use the word Muggle. A non-magical person in the States is referred to as a No-Maj.
• The Brits have the Ministry of Magic, and we have the Magical Congress of the United States of America. MCofUSoA is hidden inside New York’s Woolworth Building and even has a wizard president.
• The film, set in 1926 New York, features Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, one of the four main characters. Unlike the Harry Potter saga, one of the main characters happens to be a No-Maj. The other two are Scamander’s wife and sister-in-law.
• The Salem Witch Trials had a profound effect on the American wizarding community. Magical folk are more wary around No-Majs than in the U.K., and that mentality is furthered by a troublesome group called the Second Salemers who are focused on exposing wizards.
• There is an American wizarding school that will be mentioned in the movie. Rowling will not tell fans the name yet, but she has revealed on Twitter that the name was of immigrant origin and that indigenous magic was important when founding the school. When asked about the nature of the school, she tweeted that she would not give away any specific details about the school because “it has relevance to the Native American-Indian culture,” and if she revealed which tribes, the location would be given away.
• Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours, but special circumstances ensure that he remained for a little longer. Those circumstances might have something to do with Scamander’s simple looking briefcase, seen in promo pictures. The briefcase functions a lot like Hermione’s famous purple beaded bag. Inside the briefcase, many rare magical creatures that Scamander has documented are kept along with their habitats. It is confirmed that some of the creatures will escape from the case and cause Scamander to stay in New York to recapture them.

 
      Fans are particularly excited for the expansion of the wizarding world into the U.S and are eagerly awaiting new information. For a breakdown of all that has been revealed, click here to be directed to Pottermore, a site regularly updated by J.K Rowling herself.  The first film in the trilogy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be released Nov. 18, 2016.