Author J.K. Rowling has announced that she will be writing a new screenplay for Warner Bros. Entertainment based on the Harry Potter universe, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The film, entitled “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” will be based on a textbook from the Harry Potter universe and will focus on the fictional author of the work, Newt Scamander.
The film deal also includes opportunities for other offerings from the Harry Potter empire, such as video games, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park and Pottermore.com.
Rowling said in the Wall Street Journal that the film will be neither a prequel nor a sequel to any of the Harry Potter books, but merely an extension of the Potter universe.
“I always said that I would only revisit the wizarding world if I had an idea that I was really excited about and this is it,” Rowling told the Wall Street Journal.
“Beasts” will be the first in a new series of Harry Potter-themed films. The original eight Potter films grossed more than $7.7 billion in theaters worldwide, and Warner Bros. has had financial success expanding on well-known franchises in the past — “The Hobbit,” an offshoot of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, grossed more than $1 billion globally, according to boxofficemojo.com.