After much deliberation, Warner Bros. has finally found a female lead for their upcoming fantasy movie.
Earlier in May, it was rumoured that Kate Upton, Katherine Waterston, and Elizabeth Debicki were in the shortlist to play the female lead role in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them“, a spin-off from the “Harry Potter” series. Now, it has been confirmed that one of the contenders, Waterston, will indeed be taking up the role of Tina, short for Porpetina. She will be starring opposite Eddie Redmayne, who will be playing Newt Scamander in the movie.
Greg Silverman, Warner Bros.’ president of creative development and worldwide production, said:
Katherine Waterston is a rising star, who was a revelation in our film “Inherent Vice”, earning the praise of both critics and audiences. We are thrilled to have her back in the Warner Bros. family, especially in one of our most anticipated titles for 2016, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.
J. K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series and its spin-offs, also sounded off her approval on her Twitter account:
I couldn't be happier with our Tina: Katherine Waterston! #FantasticBeasts https://t.co/VSTUdGYUrF
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 15, 2015
Waterston’s character, Tina, is a “witch who operates in the U.S.” and will be playing a “pivotal role” in Scamander’s adventures in New York City. This fact is consistent with Rowling’s previous tweets, in which she hinted at a wizarding school which will be placed in the United States. This also indicates that the majority of the movie will take place in the U.S., as opposed to the original “Harry Potter” series, which took place in United Kingdom for the entire books and movies.
Warner Bros. has also revealed that Tina will be meeting Scamander when “he stops in New York City on his travels to find and document magical creatures”. Fans are speculating that Waterston’s character could be Scamander’s eventual wife, also named Tina, who was mentioned in the bio for the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” book.
However, the studio has yet to find a suitable candidate for 2 other important roles in the movie, which are Queenie, the younger sister of Tina, and Jacob, Scamander’s rival. Variety reports that the studio is “looking for more established faces” for the upcoming spin-off movie, rather than newcomers, as was the case in the original “Harry Potter” movie series.
Director David Yates, who directed the last 4 “Harry Potter” movies, will be helming “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, based on a script by Rowling. The movie will revolve around Newt Scamander, a fictional magiczoologist who travels the world in order to document the natural behaviour and habitat of all magical creatures.
“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,” Rowling explained.
The film, which is intended to be the first of a trilogy, will see its release in cinemas on 18th November 2016.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, US Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
