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Just a few months ago, Warner Bros. announced that they would be returning to the world of Harry Potter with a brand new spin-off film, Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them. The new film, based on a text book within the world of the franchise, will follow the book’s author, Newt Scamander, as he traverses through the magical underbelly of New York City almost seventy years before Harry would go to Hogwarts. J.K. Rowling is currently writing the film, and now it’s been revealed that director David Yates will be returning to the franchise as well, to direct the film.
THR was the first to break the news of the new deal between Yates and Warner Bros. It’s very interesting, because Yates directed the entire back half of the Harry Potter series, directing the fifth through eighth films, so he clearly has a voice and feel for the universe. It’s clear that WB was hoping to land a director who had worked on the series before, because Alfonso Cuaron was also rumored to be in the running a few months back as well.
Yates is certainly a smart choice, as well as a safe one. He really fleshed out the world well, and brought the series to a fitting close, so I’m curious to see what he’ll do now set in the events before the original film. It seems that Warner Bros. is really hoping to stay in the Yates and Harry Potter business, and I’m very interested to see if he’ll be directing the new trilogy all the way through, or if he’ll only be directing the first film and setting the template for further filmmakers. This has a chance to be something very special, and with Yates and Rowling both involved, I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on the project.
