While the Harry Potter series has come to a close, the wizarding world that fans fell in love with isn’t going anywhere.
We’ve known for a while now that J.K. Rowling’s book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was being adapted into a film starring Eddie Redmayne and today, Entertainment Weekly provided us with our first real glimpse at the project. The magazine has a slate of exclusive pictures from the set and — they look distinctly Potter-ish.
That makes sense considering that the film is a prequel of sorts, set in the same universe as the Potter series, 70 years before Harry arrives at Hogwarts. Fans will remember that, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001), Harry has a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was authored by world-famous magizoologist Newt Scamander.
In the upcoming film, Redmayne stars as Scamander, who travels to 1920s New York and embeds himself in the city’s secret community of witches and wizards.
We were interested to see how the look and feel of the Roaring ’20s would blend with Rowling’s wizarding world and — if these pictures are any indication — it looks to be a natural fit.
The cover photo, in particular, is stunning and features Redmayne standing inside the entrance of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), which is housed within the Woolworth building in the film. MACUSA serves as the American equivalent to England’s Ministry of Magic.
Other notable shots include Redmayne standing alongside Katherine Waterston (Porpentina Goldstein), Alison Sudol (Queenie Goldstein), and Dan Fogler (Jacob Kowalski) on a misty New York night, and an action shot of the film’s star wielding his wand in the middle of a cobblestone street.
News on the project should continue to filter in during the weeks and months ahead, but fans will need to wait another year before catching this one on the big screen.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters Nov. 18, 2016.
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