Darkness
brews as 'Fantastic Beasts' push magical world into new
era
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[November 08, 2016]
By Alicia Powell
NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Harry
Potter" fans will be welcomed back to the wizarding
world next week with cute and mischievous magical
creatures causing havoc in New York City in "Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them," but there's deeper,
darker unrest in the magical world.
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"Fantastic Beasts," opening in theaters on Nov. 18, is the
first of five new films from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling,
penned exclusively for the big screen and preceding the Potter
stories by around seven decades.
Set in 1926, the new film centers on Oscar-winning Eddie
Redmayne's Newt Scamander, an introverted "magizoologist" who
arrives in Manhattan with a case full of magical creatures that
quickly escape.
Oscar-winning British actor Redmayne, 34, said he and Rowling
had a "riveting" discussion on the quirks and mannerisms that
would define Scamander.
"Getting the opportunity to talk to an author about where their
characters come from is so unique. And for her Newt comes from a
really personal place, actually," Redmayne told Reuters.
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"It was really lovely to hear about his genius in her
imagination," he added.
Warner Bros' "Fantastic Beasts" begins with newspaper headlines
documenting the growing power of a dark wizard named Gellert
Grindelwald and fear and unrest among the magical community. It
echoes the rise of the dark wizard Voldemort in Rowling's Potter
stories.
Scamander's escaped creatures threaten to expose the wizarding
world, which lives discreetly among oblivious non-magic humans.
Meanwhile, Manhattan homes are being demolished by an unseen
creature, causing non-magic humans to speculate and fear that
witches live among them.
Scamander becomes a suspect for the magical ministry, but he is
helped by ministry agent Tina Goldstein, her mind-reading sister
Queenie and a non-magical baker named Jacob Kowalski to
recapture his creatures.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/06/images/ads/current/castlemanor_lda_051916.png) Scamander's story is woven into the growing influence of
Grindelwald, who believes that the wizarding world should rule
over non-magical humans.
Potter fans will know Grindelwald from his friendship and
eventual 1945 duel with Albus Dumbledore, the popular wizard
headmaster from the Potter stories.
"There is a lot of darkness that is coming up and also the
characters -- you see them growing so much throughout the film
and there is still so much room for them to grow," said Alison
Sudol, who plays Queenie.
"It will be really interesting to see when you spend more time
with them how they will change, how they'll evolve. Where they
find their way, will they lose it?" Sudol said.
(Reporting by Alicia Powell for Reuters TV; Writing by Piya
Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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