Eddie Redmayne, Colin Farrell enter Harry Potter’s world with the Rowling-scripted Fantastic Beasts

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them somewhat defies definition: the film is not quite origin story, nor prequel, nor even spin-off, yet is inextricably linked to the billion-dollar Harry Potter franchise.

Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, a ‘Magizoologist’ who authored Fantastic Beasts, and an expert in odd supernatural creatures. The film takes place about 70 years before Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts, and is set entirely in the US.

The film is helmed by Potter veterans, director David Yates and producer David Heyman, who relished the opportunity to even be on the periphery of that world again.

“For all of us, it’s hard to leave the wizarding world behind,” says Heyman. “We were trying to think of ways to keep it alive.” Another producer on the Potter films had an idea to do a faux-documentary about Scamander, and put that notion to Rowling. “She said, ‘I’ve been thinking about this for a quite a while. Of course, what she came up with was immeasurably better. And that’s how this started.”

The process was aided by the fact that Rowling has, says Heyman, “notebook upon notebook of information about the characters and the world. What you read in the Potter books is just the surface. It’s incredible. When you dig deep and ask her about any of it, she’s so quick to bring up references and other information.”