JK Rowling has given the go-ahead to the development of a new series of films inspired by her hugely successful Harry Potter franchise. But the story will be set 70 years before the Boy Who Lived was born - and it will be based in New York.
Rowling, who is to write the screenplay herself (the author's debut as a screenwriter), will tell the back story to one of Hogwarts’ set textbooks,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
The film will follow the adventures of the textbook’s fictitious author, Newt Scamander, and is intended to be the first in a new series of films made by Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, 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,” said Rowling.
“The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”
The news of Rowling’s “creative partnership” with Warner was announced by the studio’s chief executive officer Kevin Tsujihara today. He described the project as an “exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry.”
Warner, which made the eight Harry Potter films which remains the highest-grossing film series of all time, approached Rowling with the idea of expanding Fantastic Beasts.
"I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of Fantastic Beasts, realized by another writer was difficult," Rowling said.
"Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood."
Rowling says she ended up pitching "an idea that I couldn't dislodge" to Warner after they approached her about Fantastic Beasts, adding: "I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”
A special edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was published by Rowling in 2001 to raise money for Comic Relief - purporting to be Potter's actual copy complete with his notes and doodles.
In Rowling's seven Harry Potter books Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a required textbook for first year students at Hogwarts.
The book, which features a foreword by headmaster Albus Dumbledore, is a study of magical creatures (known as Magizoology).
Scamander claims to have collected most of the information found in the book through years of travel and across five continents. The first edition was commissioned in 1918 by Mr Augustus Worme of Obscurus Books but it was not published into 1927.
In addition to the film series Warner is planning to develop Fantastic Beasts across its video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses. It will also have "enhanced links" with Pottermore.com, the website built around the Harry Potter stories.
Warner has also revealed it is due to distribute the television adaptation of Rowling's first novel for adults,The Casual Vacancy, which begins production in 2014.
The author was recently revealed as being behind the pseudonym of crime writer Robert Galbraith. The Cuckoo's Calling garnered a number of positive reviews when first published, before Rowling was unmasked as its author.
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