'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' release date, news & update: 'Harry Potter' spin-off will include POC?
Author J.K. Rowling gives a statement why the "Harry Potter" spin-off movie, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" have no people of color.
The new spin-off movie has officially started filming and it is the first movie of a trilogy franchise penned by author J.K. Rowling. It will be directed by David Yates who has directed four "Harry Potter" movies with the screen play written by Rowling herself.
With the announcement comes a sullen fan who expressed her disappointment directly at Rowling through Twitter.
In a reply to user @Vividscarletsky who was upset about the all-White casting of the new movie, Rowling replied in a tweet:
"Perhaps wait until you see the movie to judge? It is a trilogy and all the characters have not been revealed or cast yet."
According to Movie News Guide, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" will be set in 1920's New York way before the start of the "Harry Potter" timeline. This suggests that there will be no crossovers from the characters of the eight-movie franchise.
According to the International Business Times, the spin-off film, which is based from a fictional textbook of the same name used by the students of Hogwarts, will be filming in the same Warner Bros. studio where the "Harry Potter" movies were filmed. The same spacious Leavesden facility opened up for fans to tour in 2012 after the showing of the final Potter film.
The star-studded cast of the movie includes Eddie Redmayne as protagonist Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Scamander's wife Porpentina, Alison Sudol as Queenie, Tina's sister, Dan Fogler as Jacob, Ezra Miller as Credence and Colin Farrell as Graves. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" will be in theaters worldwide in 3D and IMAX on Nov. 18, 2016, Venture Capital Post reports.
The main protagonist of the spin-off movie, Eddie Redmayne, has confessed to Entertainment Weekly that he is a big fan of Rowling's works and the movies and that he is excited to be working on it.
"Like many people, I read those books, I watched those films, and became completely intoxicated by J.K. Rowling's world," Redmayne told EW. "The idea of getting to tiptoe into it felt truly exciting. I hope it's going to be quite a ride."
When probed for more information, the Oscar-winning actor declined to comment any further: "I'm allowed to say absolutely nothing!" he said.