“Inherent Vice” actress Katherine Waterston will star opposite Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in the “Harry Potter” spinoff “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Warner Bros. Pictures announced Monday.
Waterston will play Tina, short for Porpentina, a witch who, unlike the beloved characters from J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books, works her magic in America.
She meets magizoologist Newt Scamander (Redmayne) when he stops in New York City on his travels to find and document magical creatures.
David Yates, director of the last four “Harry Potter” films, will direct the first installment of the “Potter” prequel trilogy from Rowling’s first-ever screenplay, inspired by her fictional textbook of the same name.
The film is being co-produced by David Heyman, producer of all eight of the “Harry Potter” features; Rowling; Steve Kloves, who scripted all but one of the “Harry Potter” films; and Lionel Wigram, who served as an executive producer on the last four installments of the franchise.
A Nov. 18, 2016, worldwide release date is planned.
— City News Service