Which film did J.K. Rowling write as the screenplay for the first Wizarding World spin-off?
Answer
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
J.K. Rowling wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first film in the Wizarding World spin-off series. The film was released in 2016.
The movie is set in 1926, decades before the main Harry Potter story, and follows magizoologist Newt Scamander in New York City. Eddie Redmayne plays Newt, while the cast also includes Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler and Colin Farrell.
The title comes from a fictional Hogwarts textbook credited to Newt Scamander. Rowling had previously published a short companion book with that title in 2001, but the 2016 film tells a substantially expanded original story rather than simply adapting the textbook’s contents.
Rowling wrote the screenplay for the film and its sequels. This differs from the Harry Potter film series, whose screenplays were adapted from her novels by other screenwriters. The first film also introduced a broader historical era of the Wizarding World, including the young Albus Dumbledore’s past and the rise of Gellert Grindelwald.