J.K. Rowling

How do you make a successful Harry Potter prequel without Harry Potter? J.K. Rowling’s new spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, travels back nearly 70 years to 1926 before the events of the first Potter movie to tell a whole new story in a new setting with (almost) all new characters. Reviving the magical universe from the second biggest franchise of all time is a pretty risky move, but Fantastic Beasts does a good job of blending the familiar with the new.

Rowling delivered a message of hope at the premiere of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.'

J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them won’t just be a five-part return to the magical world of the Harry Potter movies; it has the potential to be groundbreaking for Hollywood diversity.

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Warner Bros. is seriously banking on a resurgence of Harry Potter fever. At a fan event in London on Thursday, J.K. Rowling herself confirmed that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which hasn’t even come out in theaters yet, will be a five-film franchise.

The very first Harry Potter movie opened 15 years ago next month. Fifteen years. A lot has changed in blockbuster movies over the past decade and a half – superheroes are now front and center, CG has advanced to remarkable degrees, and remakes, prequels and spin-offs are filling the movie theaters. But J.K. Rowling’s magical world was one of the most original series of its time. Before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone opened on November 18, 2001, the only major movies for kids born in the ‘80s and ‘90s were animated films from Disney and Dreamworks. The 21st Century also brought with it the Star Wars prequels and the Lord of the Rings series, but Harry Potter introduced a whole new era of fantasy blockbusters for kids (Chronicles of Narnia, The Golden Compass, Twilight, etc.). It gave millennials the first major family franchise of their generation.

Amid meme-induced confusion, 'Harry Potter' author J.K. Rowling clarifies that Harambe the gorilla is not a real Patronus result on Pottermore.

This year we got a new ‘Harry Potter’ book and play, a new ‘Harry Potter’ spinoff, and now we’re getting a spinoff sequel. It’s a very good time to be a ‘Harry Potter’ fan.

One of the major truths of the entertainment industry is that there will never be a more interesting movie than the one you haven’t yet made. This weekend, while The Legend of Tarzan director David Yates was gently trying to nudge conversations towards his film currently in theaters, people were understandably curious about his upcoming return to Hogwarts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. And Yates let a particularly interesting piece of information drop.

When J.K. Rowling first revealed there was an American version of Howgarts, Harry Potter fans west of the Atlantic Ocean collectively freaked out. We too get our own school of witchcraft and wizardry?! Yep, and now we know a ton of new details about the school’s history, houses, and founder.

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J.K. Rowling may be done with the Harry Potter book series, but that hasn’t kept the author from indulging in and expanding its magical universe. Between the upcoming play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, there’s no shortage of new Potter-verse materials arriving this year — but Rowling has another surprise for fans, as the author is releasing FOUR new supplementary stories to help prepare you for Fantastic Beasts.