Exciting, see exciting news today, view everyone!

Potterheads, you can rejoice, because it is all not over yet.

It has been announced today that J.K. Rowling herself is pairing with her good friends at Warner Bros. to pen the screenplay version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. According to Rowling, it will be an original story, and take place a good 70 years before we get into the time period of Harry Potter that we know and will focus on the author himself, Newt Scamander. It will take place in New York, at some point.

Here is part of the official release:

“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. 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, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.

It all started when Warner Bros. came to me with the suggestion of turning ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ into a film. I thought it was a fun idea, but the idea of seeing Newt Scamander, the supposed author of ‘Fantastic Beasts,’ realized by another writer was difficult. Having lived for so long in my fictional universe, I feel very protective of it and I already knew a lot about Newt. As hard-core Harry Potter fans will know, I liked him so much that I even married his grandson, Rolf, to one of my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series, Luna Lovegood.

As I considered Warners’ proposal, an idea took shape that I couldn’t dislodge. That is how I ended up pitching my own idea for a film to Warner Bros.

I particularly want to thank Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Bros. for his support in this project, which would not have happened without him. 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.”

Also part of the announcement was the intent and agreement on a British television miniseries based off of The Casual Vacancy and a partnership in the theme park development.

This is extremely exciting news. The last installment of the Harry Potter series in the theaters was released in 2011, leaving Harry Potter fans to wonder if we’d ever have a chance to wait for something again, to have that anticipation again. And today, it was announced that we would!

I am EXTREMELY excited about this. Anything to do in the realm of Harry Potter makes me extremely happy, and I am excited about this new venture into the universe. I think J.K. Rowling writing the screenplay of it is absolutely brilliant and it’ll be such an exciting thing to see what her amazing imagination comes up with. I definitely can’t wait until this movie is realized.

Can we say midnight release, anyone?!

What do you think of this movie? Share your thoughts in the comments!