‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ could be a change of pace.
The first picture of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander has emerged from the eagerly awaited Harry Potter prequel, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. With hair fabulously tussled, he wears a smart brown tweed suit with brown boots, mustard waistcoat, white shirt and bow tie, all beneath a dashing long cerulean blue coat. It’s been more than four years since the final Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, hit theaters, but fans can now return to that universe, thanks to . EW say the cover is ‘a first look at Scamander, his pivotal briefcase in hand, standing inside the entrance of the majestic art deco-influenced Magical Congress of the United States of America (or MACUSA), which is the American version of the Ministry of Magic that’s housed inside the Woolworth Building in the film.’
Most recently, the “Potter” writer has been releasing mysteries for adult readers, with the most recent installment in this series, “Career of Evil,” having hit shelves last month. Rowling’s 2001 encyclopedia beastanica describing magical creatures and her first-ever screenplay, Fantastic Beasts has been hidden under an invisibility cloak of secrecy — until now. Beasts stars Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) as world-famous magizoologist Newt Scamander, who embarks on an adventure in 1926 New York.
It stars Colin Farrell as Graves, a wizard Newt meets in New York; comedian Dan Folger as Newt’s muggle friend Jacob; and Ezra Miller as the magically powered Credence. Rowling has stated before — including in Harry Potter canon — that there are magical governments and schools around the world, not just in Britain. Katherine Waterston will star as Newt’s wife-to-be Porpentina, Alison Udol as her younger sister Queenie; and Samantha Morton as a character named Mary Lou, while Jon Voight and Ron Pearlman have both been cast in as-yet-unnamed roles.
MACUSA is located in New York City’s Woolworth Building and flanked by what look to be golden eagles — just as Hogwarts is flanked by winged boars. (Wizards love their flanked entryways, apparently.) Will Fantastic Beasts give us a glimpse of the American Hogwarts? In 2001, Rowling published the book under the pseudonym Newt Scamander – the book itself purports to be Harry Potter’s own copy, and features anecdotes and doodles by his friend Ron Weasley and a foreword from Dumbledore himself. Holding his his wand and briefcase, Scamander nonetheless appears to be dressed in the muggle attire of the era: a blue morning coat, three piece suit and black tie. It features descriptions of 85 different magical creatures found throughout the Harry Potter universe, but only a small few details on Newt himself in the ‘about the author’ section – hence very little information about the film has emerged. Few details have been released about the movies, and though EW calls the first one a “Harry Potter Prequel,” many die-hard fans have disagreed with this label.
Joining Redmayne for the film will be True Detective’s Colin Farrell, Katherine Waterston, who starred in the recent Steve Jobs biopic, Humans star Gemma Chan and Oscar-nominated Samantha Morton. This cover is the very first image of Redmayne in character as Newt, dressed as a Muggle rather than a wizard — either to blend in, or because he just knows what looks good on him.
Now we know a bit more about the world in which Newt finds himself. “Potter” fans previously knew little about wizards and witches in America, since the “Potter” books took place in Britain. Fantastic Beasts will be released in three parts, and is expected to tell the story of how the famed magizoologist went from Hufflepuff student and Hippogriff breeder to become the globe-traveled author of one of wizarding world’s most famous works of non-fiction, which earned him the Order of Merlin, Second Class. Scamander also carries a quaint little briefcase, which could contain either bare essentials or literally everything he owns — thanks to a good old-fashioned Undetectable Extension Charm (like Hermione’s purse in Deathly Hallows).
Chronicling the beasts of the Potter universe – many of which are significant to the original adventures – the book also appears itself inside the universe as prescribed school reading for Harry and his classmates. While 1926 is a little early to have Newt interact with most of our favorite characters, it’s worth noting that at least one famously powerful magical duo was alive and well at the time the movie’s set: Dumbledore and Grindelwald.
While the “Potter” book series had dark themes, including a physically abusive teacher and allegories for Nazi Germany in later books, themes like love and friendship and how they can triumph over evil were always at the center of the stories about Harry. If these themes continue in the “Fantastic” story, the “Fantastic” movie may be more cheerful than recent popular stories in the young adult-genre. While the final “Potter” book ends with villain Voldemort being defeated and peace descending on the land (as far as we know), the “Games” books have a much more mixed ending. During the story, protagonist Katniss joins with a rebel force fighting against her country’s evil leader, but she soon finds out that the rebel leadership has committed deeds just as terrible as those done by the totalitarian government. She kills the rebel leader and Katniss herself is haunted by the memory of what happened during the conflict, though she now hopes that her children will be living in a better world.
Characters who attempt to do the right thing, such as the character of Ned Stark (Sean Bean), are almost always punished for it and those who put down others for their own gain prosper.
