There’s a new wizard in town and he’s bringing strange baggage. Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne) is welcomed to New York in the new teaser trailer for the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and he’s poised to inadvertently unleash a magical suitcase’s worth of problems.
Based on author J.K. Rowling’s book of the same name, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them brings us back to the wizarding world we entered into with her Harry Potter saga, only this time, she takes us to the roaring ’20s. Scamander, a budding magizoologist, is traveling through New York with a load of magical creatures he has collected from around the world. However, his visit drastically changes course when some of the beasts escape and have to be rounded up.
Scamander’s strange suitcase is front and center in the new teaser trailer. We follow him as he arrives in the city and passes through customs, telling an official that he is not carrying any livestock. (The talons we see poking out of his suitcase indicate otherwise.) At the same time, we get details on his backstory: Scamander was kicked out of Hogwarts, yet one of his professors, none other than Albus Dumbledore, fought his expulsion
It’s clear that Hogwarts isn’t the only place where Scamander finds himself in hot water. Wizarding official Percival Graves (Colin Farrell) seems extremely suspicious of the young researcher. “No human could do those things he’s capable of,” he says in the preview.
The teaser trailer, which debuted at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards, also gives a good look at the new era. The New York it portrays is bustling and exciting, especially once there are magical creatures on the loose. The film’s task of living up to its Harry Potter predecessors is no small one, but we have high hopes based on what we’ve seen so far.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the first film adaptation that Rowling has penned. She teamed up with the movie’s director, David Yates, who helmed the last four Harry Potter flicks. The movie also stars Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller, and Jon Voight.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is due to hit theaters on November 18.
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