Eddie Redmayne Officially in Talks for HARRY POTTER Spinoff 'FANTASTIC BEASTS'

According to Deadline, Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne is officially in talks for the role of 'Newt Scamander' in Warner Bros. HARRY POTTER spin-off film FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM. The news follows reports earlier this year that Redmayne was the studio's top choice for the film.

Based on J.K. Rowling's short Hogwarts textbook of the same title, the first film in the trilogy is set for a November 18, 2016 release.

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM chronicles the adventures of the book's fictitious author from the wizarding world, News Scamander, beginning in New York, seven years before Harry received his Hogwarts letter.

Scamander is described as a "magiczoologist", or "a person who studies magical creatures." There are four other main roles - two American girls and two boys - that need to be filled.

"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, who is making her screenwriting debut with the film.

The final two films in the trilogy are set for November 16, 2018 and November 20, 2020 releases, respectively.

Redmayne, who just won an Academy Award for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, will next appear in THE DANISH GIRL. Among his other film credits are LES MISERABLES, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN and more. He has starred in the West End in RICHARD II and on Broadway in RED.

Photo by Stewart Cook / Rex USA, Jim Smeal / BEImages

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