Warner Bros denies ‘Fantastic Beasts’ casting news
“The search for Newt Scamander is underway!” was the headline racing across the Internet as casting for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was rumored to have begun.
Via SnitchSeeker, Warner Bros promptly quieted the news, “according to a source at Warner Bros, this casting news is a false rumor,” so fans may not be seeing the casting news right away.
That said, filming is expected to start this summer, so it’s possible Warner doesn’t want the massive media and fan investigation, creating more distraction than healthy buzz.
photo/Brandon Jones at Universal Studios Orlando 2012
One of the initials source of the rumor was Acting-Auditions.org, which posted the casting update and that “shooting for Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them will take place in the U.K. and New York, starting in August 2015.”
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is promoted as neither prequel nor sequel to the Harry Potter franchise, but technically an “extension of the wizarding world,” centering on magizoologist Newt Scamander, the man who, seventy years or so before the events of the original Harry Potter series, wrote the titular textbook, which would go on to be studied by Harry, Ron, Hermione and the other students at Hogwarts.
While new details are scarce, we do know that the script is complete, or mostly finished.
Back in November, it was reported that J.K. Rowling had finally finished the film’s script, about a month after her teasing fans with a few hints, more on that here.
However, SnitchSkeeker recently ran an interview with Harry Potter graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, and from what they said, it sounds like the script may still be in development. “But we are hoping that we are going to be full force very soon,” Lima noted in the interview.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is set for a November 18, 2016 release.
