Those of us who read the Harry Potter books as they were being published likely remember the excruciatingly long gap between Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire(Book 4) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Book 4 came out in 2000, Fantastic Beasts is set up like an encyclopedia, listing off various magical creatures and describing them, including their abilities and appearnces, as well as where to find them. Because it's designed as a school textbook, the book also has doodles and notes in the margins, courtesy of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
Given the huge success of the Harry Potter films, it's no surprise that WB would be looking to expand that even further on the big screen, and Fantastic Breasts may be the best way to delve back into the rich and colorful, magical world Rowling has created without tapping back into the source material for remake purposes. The fact that Rowling is set to write the screenplay is encouraging. If anyone's looking to expand on her characters, it should be her. Since finishing up the Harry Potter series, Rowling has moved on to other types of books, with The Casual Vacancy and more recently, the crime fiction novel The Cuckoo's Calling. 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. Rowling said in a release posted to her Facebook page. In her statement, Rowling is clear that Fantastic Beasts isn't a prequel or sequel to the Harry Potter series, " but an extension of the wizarding world." She goes on to reveal that the story will begin in New York, 70 years before Harry's story starts. Doing the match by what Beasts includes on Newt's background, that will presumably be during Newt's youth. Fantastic Beasts, then will focus on Newt Scamander, author of the fictional tome that was frequently mentioned in Rowling's original "Harry Potter" series. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films. "Harry Potter" nerds out there, a brush-up on our future lead character. Newt's grandson, Rolf Scamander, went on to marry Luna Lovegood and have two children with her a plot turn that leaves open the possibility of some further.