Bless the beasts and the children! Eddie Redmayne cast in JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them #book2movies

I'm pretty excited to see Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl  but I know lots of you are such huge Harry Potter fans that I'm betting some of you will be even more excited at the news that the Academy Award winning actor is taking the lead role of Newt Scamander in JK Rowling's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. 

Newt Scamander is the Wizarding World’s preeminent "magi- zoologist", who writes the Hogwarts school textbook based on the magical beasts he's encountered and documented in his travels. That's a book that's been on my muggle son's bookshelf next to his HP books since it was first published in 2001. 

On the required reading list for all first year Hogwarts students—which apparently can be filled via Amazon—Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a detailed introduction to the magical beasts of the non-Muggle world, including a few familiar examples like Hippogriff, Flobberworm and Kappa along with some species you've never heard of. "Learn what a Chizpurfle is, or why one should always beware of the sinister Lethifold" 

Charles Darwin sketch, Melbourne Museum

I can so easily picture Redmayne scurrying across the non-muggle world, sketchbook in tow, detailing his findings like a magical version of Charles Darwin! Picture his portrayal of Stephen Hawking(above) before he was stricken by ALS.

Awaiting word on additional casting, Justin Kroll at Variety reports that Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Fanning, Allison Sudol (Transparent) and Lili Simmons (True Detective, Banshee) are up for the role of Tina. 

Kate Upton (The Other Woman)—it's almost impossible to find an image of this swimsuit and undies model without boobs spilling out of her top, this is one of the few I could find—Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby) are up for the part of Queenie, Tina’s older sister. 

Since I'm not a helicopter parent, I didn't even flip through my son's copy of the Hogwarts textbook (muggles with very high scores on their entrance exams were given a waiver to audit the class) so I'm counting on you to explain their potential roles. 

JK Rowling herself, wrote the script, with David Yates, who directed the last four Harry Potter films, helming the new film. While they haven't completed casting they do already have a release date. November 18th, 2016 here in the states and the UK. 
Live somewhere else? Check out this list of the movie's release dates.