Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them will be a trilogy

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them - the Harry Potter spin-off with a script by J.K. Rowling (based on her own book) - will be a trilogy, meaning there's plenty of excitement on the horizon for anyone suffering Hogwarts withdrawal symptoms.

In a profile of Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujihara, The New York Times writes that, "three megamovies are planned." You weren't expecting a low-key indie approach to one of the most valuable franchises out there, were you?

Tsujihara is also credited with being the driving force behind the return of the Potter-verse to the big screen. "When I say he made Fantastic Beasts happen, it isn't PR-speak but the literal truth," explains J.K. Rowling.

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them was published in 2001. The mock textbook - as referenced in the Potter novels - follows the adventures of Newt Scamander, a Ministry of Magic worker who traversed the globe categorising the weird and wonderful creatures that muggles are unaware of. Seeing as it's a slender text, Rowling will have considerable creative licence to beef it up for the big screen.

It has previously been revealed that Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them will be set some 70 years before the Potter series, with the adventure kicking off in New York, meaning Harry's and pals are unlikely to make an appearance.

So far, no casting, director or release date details have been revealed.

Matt Maytum
Editor, Total Film

I'm the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I've worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.