Brand-New Facts About Fantastic Beasts, Straight From the Director

By Brinton Parker

If you're a hardcore Harry Potter fan who's been feeling a little apprehensive about Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, have no fear: we've got news that will put your troubled mind at ease. In an exclusive interview with director David Yates (the mastermind behind the final four Potter films), Pottermore gained brand-new information about J.K. Rowling's script, which Yates calls "beautiful."

"I spent seven years doing four of her [Rowling's] Harry Potter films so I was desperate to read this script, but also nervous, you know. It's a beautiful script; it's really fun. It's fresh," Yates explained to the Pottermore Correspondent. "She's got such a gift for creating adorable characters. These ones are special, they're really moving and funny. You see bits of yourself in them, or you see people you know." See? If Yates was nervous but relieved about the new addition to Rowling's magical universe, you likely will be, too.

So exactly what sort of insider info did Yates spill to the Harry Potter fan site? Well, aside from explaining that the cast is a veritable "rock band" of talented actors, Yates revealed more about the four main characters of the upcoming magical franchise. Here's what you need to know about your next favorite band of Rowling characters.

  • Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne), a magizoologist: "Newt is just fascinating. Probably anyone who's ever done some sort of geeky thing will relate to him. . . . Newt's obsessed with beasts and cataloguing facts about beasts. When I was a teenager growing up in the north of England, I was obsessed with lenses and cameras, so I really get that aspect of someone who's truly obsessed with something. I get it."
  • Porpentina Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston), Magical Congress of the United States employee: "And Tina! Oh she's so adorable because she's sort of so career-obsessed. A lot of us who work really hard can sometimes relate to that."
  • Jacob Kowalski (played by Dan Fogler), a No-Maj (muggle) friend of Newt's: "Jacob is everyman, or everywoman, he's pure and I like that."
  • Queenie Goldstein (played by Alison Sudol), a talented Legilimens: "Queenie's glamourous and somehow worldly but innocent."

Can't wait to meet them! Here's the recent trailer and everything else you need to know about the upcoming film.