J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Released in 2016, the film was Rowling’s screenwriting debut. It is set in the Wizarding World decades before the Harry Potter story and follows magizoologist Newt Scamander in 1926 New York City. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt in the film.
The film’s title comes from a Hogwarts textbook referenced in the Harry Potter novels. Rowling had previously published a short companion book with that title in 2001, but the film is a new story rather than a direct adaptation of that textbook.
David Yates directed the film, while Rowling wrote the screenplay. The movie launched a planned series that expanded the history of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald. This division of responsibilities can cause confusion: Yates directed the film, but Rowling is credited as its screenwriter.