If you missed it, last September J.K. Rowling announced that Warner Bros. wanted to spin-off some of her characters in to other cash cows I mean franchises, namely Newt Scamander, author of the Hogwarts textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She didn’t want let some random jerk write the screenplay, so agreed to do it herself.
Last week Warners picked November 18, 2016 as the release date for the film. Now comes word via Nikki Finke’s Twitter that Alfonso Cuarón is “deep in talks” to direct. Cuarón is more recently known for directing Gravity, and winning a buttload of awards for it. He also directed the only good installment of the Harry Potter movie series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So this is one of those rumors you’re going to be pissed about if it turns out to be completely untrue.
The Newt series is a planned trilogy, because of course it is. The pitch for the film is that it’s set 70 years before the events of the Harry Potter and the Adjective Noun series, and follows Newt’s journey to document all sorts of magical beasts. And while it’s set some time before the birth of Harry Potter, it’s not to be considered a prequel. Just a spin-off at the turn of the century in New York, apparently. I’m also going to take a wild guess that there’s not going to be too many complex wizarding concepts introduced (like how to keep goddamn score at goddamn Quidditch) without the aid of a 600 page book to outline things for the viewer.
If Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t born to play an Englishman whose full name is “Newton Artemis Fido Scamander” I will eat both of my shoes.
That’s my contribution to this story. My money’s on Cumberbatch or Martin Freeman for the lead, because they’re the only popular English actors left that haven’t been in a Harry Potter movie. (Buzzfeed suggested Harry Styles for the role, because Buzzfeed is literally high on their own ability to make lists.)
Ah, see? A very Newt-y outfit. I’m sure he has loads of them. Suits that say “My actual name is Benedict Cumberbatch.”
Via Coming Soon