J.K. Rowling to Pen 'Harry Potter' Spinoff Series 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them'

Ever since Harry Potter concluded a couple of years ago with Deathly Hallows pt. 2, Warner Bros. has been trying to find another franchise to replace it. But replacing the most successful franchise in movie history is no easy task, and so far they haven't had any luck. It turns out the answer to their troubles may have been staring at them right in the face all along, and it's going back to author J.K. Rowling for an adaptation of Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Warner Bros. announced the deal today, revealing that Rowling will make her screenwriting debut on the film, which will be an original story designed to be the first in a franchise. The 2001 novel is said to be a copy of Harry Potter's textbook from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, written by the mysterious magizoologist Newt Scamander with a forward by Albus Dumbledore. Rowling had this to say about the book and how it would translate for the silver screen....

“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. 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.”

No word on when production could begin but clearly it's very early on in the process as a director needs to be found. Will Warner Bros. turn to some of the former Harry Potter directors, like perhaps David Yates, to assure a seamless transition?  Will we see completely new actors brought in, or is there the possibility of a few familiar faces? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered, but this is incredibly exciting news.