Harry Potter Casting Update: Oscar's Best Actor Eddie Redmayne Revealed as Star in 2016 Film

By Cheri Cheng - 02 Jun '15 13:59PM

Eddie Redmayne will star in the next Harry Potter film, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Warner Bros. confirmed on Monday.

"Eddie Redmayne has emerged as one of today's most extraordinarily talented and acclaimed actors," Warner Bros. exec Greg Silverman said. "We are thrilled to welcome him into J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, where we know he will deliver a remarkable performance as Newt Scamander, the central character in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

The Oscar-winning actor has been rumored to play the main character for some time now. The movie is an adaptation of Rowling's 2001 book, which is about Scamander, a magizoologist and author whose work will end up in the halls of the wizarding school, Hogwarts. This storyline takes place decades before Potter's time.

Rowling said at the announcement of the movie, "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 laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt's story will start in New York, 70 years before Harry's gets underway."

Daniel Radcliffe (Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ronald Weasley), who gained international fame from the Harry Potter series, will not appear at all in this film.

David Yates, who directed Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Parts 1 and 2, will direct this film.

"Eddie is a fearless actor, brimming with invention, wit and humanity," Yates said in a statement. "I couldn't be more excited about the prospect of working with him as we start this new adventure in J.K. Rowling's wonderful world, and I know she feels the same way."

The movie is expected to hit theaters on Nov. 18, 2016 in 3D and IMAX.