There’s movement brewing in the cinematic world of Harry Potter as the first of several hopeful spin-off films, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, may have found a familiar face to helm its first adventure.
A report at Hollywood Reporter suggests that Warner Brothers is in the process of courting David Yates to direct Fantastic Beasts. It is the first Harry Potter spin-off that Warner Bros. is developing with J.K. Rowling following the end of eight hugely successful Potter adaptations for the big screen. Rowling is currently working on writing the screenplay.
Yates is no stranger to the on-screen Potterverse having directed four of the eight Harry Potter films. They included Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and Part II.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set 70 years prior to the events of Harry Potter. It involves fictitious author Newton Artemis Fido Scamander who is commissioned to pen a book about the magical creatures of the world. The film will follow his adventures as he seeks out these creatures to catalog for his writings and, for the first time in the on-screen Potterverse, take the narrative overseas into New York City for at least a short time.
Once Yates is hopefully formally brought on board, and Rowling’s script at least a couple drafts in, expect the casting process to begin and some actors to potentially land their dream roles
Warner Bros. has already staked out a November 18, 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them release date.
