J.K. Rowling’s screenplay Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was released as a film in 2016.
The film premiered in New York City on 10 November 2016 and had its wider release later that month. It is set in 1926, decades before the main Harry Potter story, and follows magizoologist Newt Scamander after he arrives in New York with a suitcase containing magical creatures.
Rowling wrote the screenplay, making it her screenwriting debut. The film was inspired by the fictional Hogwarts textbook of the same name, which had previously appeared as a short companion book published in 2001. The movie is not a direct adaptation of that textbook; it uses the title and creature-focused premise to launch a new narrative.
Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander, while the film also features Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol. Its success led to further films in the Fantastic Beasts series.