Casting Continues on the New "Fantastic Beasts" Adventure Set in J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World
Among the actors who have joined the international ensemble cast are: Carmen Ejogo, returning to the role of Seraphina Picquery; Wolf Roth as Spielman; Victoria Yeates as Bunty; Derek Riddell as Torquil Travers; Poppy Corby-Tuech as Rosier; Cornell S. John as Arnold Guzman; and Brontis Jodorowsky as Nicolas Flamel. Fiona Glascott and Jessica Williams have also been cast in roles to be revealed. ,p> Reprising their roles from the worldwide hit “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” are Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”), who stars as wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander; Katherine Waterston as Auror Tina Goldstein; Dan Fogler as No-Maj Jacob Kowalski; Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein; and Ezra Miller as Credence. Oscar nominee Johnny Depp (the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Finding Neverland”) returns as the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald, and Oscar nominee Jude Law (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”) portrays Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore.
Rounding out the main cast are Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange; Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander; Claudia Kim as a woman in a wizarding circus; William Nadylam as Yusuf Kama; Ingvar Sigurdsson as Grimmson; Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Skender; and Kevin Guthrie as Abernathy.
J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film, which opens in 1927, a few months after Newt helped to unveil and capture the infamous Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. However, as he promised he would, Grindelwald has made a dramatic escape and has been gathering more followers to his cause—elevating wizards above all non-magical beings. The only one who might be able to stop him is the wizard he once called his dearest friend, Albus Dumbledore. But Dumbledore will need help from the wizard who had thwarted Grindelwald once before, his former student Newt Scamander. The adventure reunites Newt with Tina, Queenie and Jacob, but his mission will also test their loyalties as they face new perils in an increasingly dangerous and divided wizarding world.
The film expands the wizarding world, moving from New York to London and on to Paris. There are also some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of the books and film series.
David Heyman, J.K. Rowling, Steve Kloves and Lionel Wigram are producing the film, with Tim Lewis, Neil Blair, Rick Senat and Danny Cohen serving as executive producers.
Collaborating with Yates behind the scenes are: Oscar-winning director of photography Philippe Rousselot (“A River Runs Through It”); three-time Oscar-winning production designer Stuart Craig (“The English Patient,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Gandhi,” the “Harry Potter” films), three-time BAFTA Award-winning editor Mark Day (the last four “Harry Potter” films, “State of Play”), four-time Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Alice in Wonderland”), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Tim Burke (“Gladiator,” the “Harry Potter” films), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Christian Manz (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”).
The new adventure is being filmed at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, which has been the cinematic home of the Wizarding World since the first “Harry Potter” film.
Slated for release on November 16, 2018, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.