Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne might have impressed audiences with his appearances in films such as "The Theory of Everything" and "The Danish Girl," but that has not kept him from feeling pressured to do a good job portraying Newt Scamander in the Harry Potter spinoff film "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
"The stakes are high because they were so good before," he told E! Online about the previous "Harry Potter" films. "You don't want to screw it up."
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" takes place in New York City 70 years even before Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione first step foot at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, and it will follow Hufflepuff Scamander as he goes from one adventure after another documenting all of the world's magical creatures.
The film will mark author J.K. Rowling's screenwriting debut and will have filmmaker David Yates (who directed the last four Harry Potter films) reprising the role as director.
It will be released on November 18, 2016. Aside from Redmayne, other stars of the film include "True Detective" actor Colin Farrell who plays Graves and "Trainwreck" star Ezra Miller who plays Credence. Miller also got to work with "Harry Potter" alum and UN ambassadress for gender equality Emma Watson in the coming of age film "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" with "Percy Jackson" star Logan Lerman.
"Inherent Vice" actress Katherine Waterston and "Transparent" actress Alison Sudol would be portraying the sisters (Porpen)Tina and Queenie. Meanwhile, "Balls of Fury" star Dan Fogler will be playing Jacob, a Muggle (non-wizarding folk) who establishes a friendship with Scamander during his adventures, while "Minority Report" actress Samantha Morton will play a character named Mary Lou.
"Brooklyn" actress Jean Murray will play Chastity, while the film's newcomer Faith Wood-Blagrove will be playing Modesty.
"It's a complete privilege for me," Redmayne said about his role as Scamander. "I love J.K. Rowling. I love the 'Harry Potter' films and books so for me this is just the most wondrous gift really."
The admiration goes both ways, since "Harry Potter" lead star Daniel Radcliffe has also raved about Redmayne's previous works, and said that he looks forward to the next generation of "Harry Potter" films.
"I'm excited to see them, especially with Eddie," he said. "He's awesome. I think it'll be fantastic. I'm intrigued to see what they're going to do."
At the same time, Radcliffe also confirmed that he will not be making any cameo in any future "Harry Potter" movies.
