JK Rowling's Harry Potter spin-off to be a new film trilogy

The book, which was published in 2001, was originally billed as one of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbooks.

17:23 31 March 2014

JK Rowling’s Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is to be made into a film trilogy. Warner Bros chief Kevin Tsujihara, made the announcement last week. He is also the one who persuaded author Rowling to adapt the book for the big screen.

The book follows the life of Newt Scamadner, a “magizoologist” who is also the author of a guide to magical creatures. The book, which is set in New York, is an extension of Harry Potter’s “wizarding world.”

JK Rowling said that it didn’t take months to write the script draft, but less than two weeks. She said: "We (with Tsujihara) had one dinner, a follow-up telephone call, and then I got out the rough draft that I'd thought was going to be an interesting bit of memorabilia for my kids and started rewriting.”

"When Kevin got the top job, he brought a new energy, which rubbed off. He's a very engaging person, thoughtful and funny."

"I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it.”