Attention No-Maj: J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Sequel Set for 2018 Release

The first film in the new franchise will hit theaters this November

By Samantha Schnurr Aug 03, 2016 3:51 PMTags
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemJaap Buitendijk

The magic of J.K. Rowling is going to be sticking around until at least 2018.

Months before the debut of Rowling's Harry Potter spin-off, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it has already been confirmed that the currently unnamed sequel to the three-part franchise is in motion and will hit theaters Nov. 16, 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed Wednesday. The first installment of the Potter prequel starring Eddie Redmayne will premiere in theaters on Nov. 18 of this year. 

Rowling, who penned her first screenplay for the initial film, will return to write the sequel while fellow Fantastic Beasts director David Yates is also slated to take his seat behind the cameras yet again for the second project. 

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Get Your First Look at More Magical Creatures in Latest Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them Trailer

Inspired by a book on Harry Potter's first-year required reading list, the plot of the first film takes place decades prior to Potter's arrival at Hogwarts, though the characters exist within the same magical world. Newt Scamander is a "magizoologist" who observes rare and endangered magical creatures around the world, documents them for his book and collects them in his tiny weathered suitcase. While in New York City, the creatures escape in a wiz-phobic America and havoc ensues.  

As for the sequel, it "moves deeper into an increasingly dark time for the wizarding world, where Newt and our other heroes have to decide on their allegiances," Warner Bros. said.

While the first film has not yet hit theaters, the world has already caught Potter fever once again as the latest installment to the franchise, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was released to scores of eager fans at midnight on July 31. Unlike previous books in the series, Cursed Child is the script of a corresponding play, which had its official opening night at the West End Palace Theater in London on July 30.  

Watch: Daniel Radcliffe Not Watching "Harry Potter" Play?
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