In what has to be a first, Warner Bros. announced a three-film adaptation of a 42-page textbook today. The catch? The textbook, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” is part of the Harry Potter universe, and series author J.K. Rowling will pen the screenplays.
“Beasts,” which Rowling wrote back in 2001, is supposed to be Harry Potter’s personal copy of the textbook by Newt Scamander, which the first-year students study from in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Though the textbook merely describes a series of mythical creatures in the Harry Potter universe, Rowling has a full-length story planned that will follow the textbook’s fictional author. From E! Online:
“The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films,” she explained. “But Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.”
Warner Bros. executives are certainly hoping Rowling can translate her literary magic into film adaptations, bravely committing to three full-length films, instead of the one previously rumored. Rowling will have the assistance of David Yates, who directed the last 4 films in the Harry Potter series.
As if we hadn’t already dreamed of one day getting a letter from Hogwarts, now we know for a fact we were missing out. What other school in this universe or any other fictional universe has 42-page textbooks? Harry’s OWL exams were probably all true-false too, that lucky son of a witch.
[h/t E! Online]
