In an effort to ensure that the magic of Harry Potter lives on forever (AKA, that they keep making money off this thing), J.K. Rowling is reportedly reteaming with Warner Bros. to work on a new Harry Potter spinoff film franchise. Except—Harry Potter himself won't be involved at all.
According to The A.V. Club, Rowling will be making her screenwriting debut with a franchise based off the Harry Potter spinoff books, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. The book, which was first released in 2009, is written in a textbook-style format, and the title appeared in the first Harry Potter book on Harry's reading list before he attended Hogwarts.
Not much is really known about the plot, except that it'll follow the author of the book, Newt Scamander as "he tracks various mythical monsters" and no main players from the Harry Potter films—Harry, Hermione, Ron, etc.—will be involved. The door is open for potential cameos from the professors at Hogwarts, though that hasn't been confirmed. It's kind of a weird idea—it seems like just a bid to milk the franchise for all its worth—but it'll do well for sure.
It'll be Rowling's screenwriting debut. No word yet on when to expect it in theaters, though, because the script isn't even finished yet.
[via A.V. Club]
