Warner Bros. Entertainment has announced that it will partner with J.K. Rowling on a new film series set in Rowling’s Harry Potter universe, inspired by the Hogwart’s textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The announcement was made in a statement released via Deadline earlier today.
 
The Fantastic Beasts tome was a textbook on Harry Potter’s reading list for Hogwarts, and was released in paperback book form by Scholastic, Inc. back in 2001 by Rowling as part of a charity project.  The movie will be based on the fictitious author, Newton Scamander, a magizoolist who published the book in 1927.
 
"Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen 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," said Rowling.  "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, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway.'  This will mark the screenwriting debut for Rowling.
 
In addition to the planned movies, Warner Bros. also announced plans to develop the property "across the Studio’s video game, consumer products and digital initiatives businesses, including enhanced links with Pottermore.com, Rowling’s digital online experience built around the Harry Potter stories."