David Heyman gave a very brief teaser about the upcoming
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them first feature, set to begin production later this year, and mentioned J.K. Rowling's screenplay, which is still currently being edited.
Quote:
David Heyman: “We’re at early stages [with ‘Fantastic Beasts’ pre-production], but we’re beginning the process.”
“I don’t really want to talk about it right now to be honest with you, but it’s very exciting. Jo [Rowling] has written something very special.”
Heyman was reticent to share whether they’d be holding open auditions for the lead roles like they did for ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’, saying it was “too early to say” how the casting process would work.
While Heyman, producer of all eight Harry Potter films and the upcoming Fantastic Beasts series, stated that it was too early to comment about casting Newt Scamander, the first name has already been thrown in the mix for rumours to begin.
Matt Smith, known famously as playing the eleventh Doctor in
Doctor Who earlier this decade, is possibly in talks to take on the role of Scamander, and may be the favourite. Please note that none of this is confirmed, and to take all stories as such with a grain of salt.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them's first film, directed by David Yates, will release in theaters November 2016.