J.K. Rowling's upcoming ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off movie, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,’ is expected to resemble the original franchise's fourth film, as revealed by producer David Heyman.
Rowling has penned the script for the upcoming movie, in which Eddie Redmayne takes on the lead role. The story is set around seven decades before the actual ‘Harry Potter’ saga begins, drawing attention to Newt Scamander, the author of one of Harry's textbooks in Hogwarts, and his adventures in New York City.
After taking on directorial duties for the last four ‘Harry Potter’ movies, David Yates has made a comeback to helm ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them,’ but Heyman believes the upcoming spinoff movie is most similar to ‘Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire’ in 2005, which was helmed by Mike Newell.
"It's like the fourth. Mike talked about the fourth as being like an Indian musical - and it's not that, but it's got the humor of that film," Heyman said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "It has the romantic comedy, that fish-out-of-water humor, that very human, natural character comedy."
Heyman, who produced all eight ‘Harry Potter’ films and has signed on to ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them,’ further explained: "And now David is always looking for truthful, human moments, it's never just a gag, he's grounding [the storytelling moments] in a reality. [Beasts] is very funny, it's got a big heart, and there's darkness too."
Aside from Redmayne, other cast members of ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ include Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell.
Rowling previously explained the movie’s concept when she made the official announcement two years ago.
"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for 17 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 award-winning author explained.
She also reached out to fans of the ‘Harry Potter’ saga, saying that the elements in the upcoming spinoff will certainly be familiar to those who have read the books and/or watched the films in the original franchise.
‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ has been set for an official release on Nov. 18, 2016.